The MY Farley Mowat is a retired Island Class Coast Guard Cutter replacing the Sea Shepherd ship of the same name (see RV Farley Mowat).
History[]
In January of 2015, Sea Shepherd bought two Coast Guard vessels in Annapolis, Maryland from the Coast Guard, formerly named USCG Pea Island and USCG Block Island, both of the Island Class. Captain K. “Kujo” Johns, a Sea Shepherd Captain, took the two recently decommissioned vessels to Key West, Florida and they became the MY Farley Mowat and the MY John Paul DeJoria. After painting and detailing of the vessels was completed, both were deployed to the Gulf of Mexico and to the Sea of Cortez.
Operation Milagro 3[]
Fresh out of the paint shop in Key West, the Farley Mowat was given her first orders. As part of her maiden voyage, she took part in the joint campaigns, Operation Toxic Gulf and Operation Milagro 3. The goal of these two campaigns was to document pollution in the Gulf of Mexico caused by The Deepwater Horizon oil spill and to save the vaquita porpoise from extinction caused by Mexican fisherman deploying driftnets into the Sea of Cortez. To date, the Farley Mowat has made 97 arrest and has captured close to 75 fishing boats using driftnets. Because of the success of the campaign, Mexican cartels were taking notice and proceeded to issue death threats to the crews of the three vessels taking part in the campaign. Admiral Paul Watson stated that Sea Shepherd takes death threats seriously, but that does not deter them from their campaign or protection of the worlds wildlife. Sea Shepherd has reported the incidents to the Mexican Police on land, who searched for the Mexican drug cartels who have issued threats to Sea Shepherd crews. The case is ongoing. After a successful campaign, the Farley Mowat docked in San Diego where the ship underwent repairs.
Operation Ghostnet[]
After the completion of Operation Milagro 3, and time in drydock, the Farley Mowat was deployed on an international campaign, before the start of Operation Milagro 4. The campaign was named Operation Ghostnet, with the goal of removing any and all abandoned nets in the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean. After nets are deployed, they will sometimes not be recovered by the poachers. Ocean tides and wildlife can cause damage the marker buoys, causing the net to drift off course, killing many organisms. Sea Shepherd's goal to travel to the Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean between campaigns, remove these nets, and destroy them before any wildlife could become trapped . By the end of Operation Ghostnet, Neptune's Navy had removed 2 million lost or abandoned nets from the ocean. As the campaign was wrapping up, the Mexican Poachers decided to jump the gun and deploy more illegal nets in the water, increasing the demand for bass bladders. Sea Shepherd and the Mexican Navy arrested 10 boats and seized all of their nets. The Farley Mowat then returned to Mexico and went back into drydock to prepare for Milargo 4.
Operation Milagro 4[]
In 2018, The Farley Mowat returned to the Sea of Cortez, this time, not alone. Joining her were the John Paul DeJoria and The Sharpie. Her sisters joined her after completing hurricane relief missions, following Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, which had destroyed their home port of Key West. With three Coast Guard Cutters in the Pacific, the Mexican Poachers were unable to hide from the Farley Mowat, as this was the most successful Milagro campaign at the time.
Operation Milagro 5[]
In 2019, Sea Shepherd launched Operation Milagro 5. This year's goal was to conduct constant patrols and the use of the crane ship, MV White Holly , to recover the nets and transport them to shore.
On January 31, 2019, the Farley Mowat was violently attacked by poachers. The poachers threw and launched rocks from sling shots at the Farley Mowat, breaking several windows. Poachers also launched Molotov cocktail onto the deck. The poachers even used Sea Shepherd's own tactics against them, fowling their props with rope. Five poachers boarded the ship and were detained. Sea Shepherd repelled the attack and returned to port for repairs. Admiral Watson stated, “Sea Shepherd will not be deterred by violence. Our mission is to prevent the extinction of the vaquita porpoise and we will continue to seize the nets of poachers in the Vaquita Refuge. Sea Shepherd salutes the quick responsiveness of the Mexican Navy in defusing a dangerous situation.” Sea Shepherd has called on the Mexican Navy, which increased their patrols. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, with Mexican authorities searching for suspects who took part in the attack. Some of the poachers uploaded a video to Facebook, which was reviewed by Facebook to try to identify the posters, so they could be reported to the authorities.
In the wake of the attack, Sea Shepherd combined Operation Treasured Islands and Operation Milagro, so the Sharpie could act as backup. Sea Shepherd also employed a tactic used by ICR. The crews covered their ships with nets and mesh, installed water cannons, and installed protective metal grills to prevent them from being broken again. Sea Shepherd was also granted uniformed Mexican and American Navy and Coast Guard officers, armed with Tear Gas, M-16s, and AK 47s, to place on deck to deter violent attacks.
On April 27, 2019, the White Holly arrived on scene in the Sea of Cortez. The Farley Mowat and Sharpie welcomed her with a water salute.
At the completion of the campaign, the Farley Mowat sailed to port for routine maintenance before the next campaign. The White Holly and the Sharpie returned to Operation Treasured Islands and Operation Ghostnet.
Operation Milagro 6[]
In 2020, Sea Shepherd launched Operation Milagro 6. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it was a successful campaign. In March, the Farley Mowat was attacked by poachers while recovering a net. During this attack gunshots were fired at the the Farley Mowat and the Sharpie. The crews of the ships were able diffuse the situation, and was able to completely recover the net and destroy it. To date, Sea Shepherd had destroyed 3,000 nets and saved 6,000 wildlife despite, most of which can be attributed to the Farley Mowat, as it has served on the most Milagro campaigns.
Operation Milagro 7[]
On new years day of 2021, Sea Shepherd began its seventh campaign in the gulf to save the vaquita. Shortly after leaving port, the Farley Mowat and the Sharpie were violently attacked by poachers, who hurled led weights and Molotov cocktails at the ships. During the attack, one of the boats attempted to swerve across the bow of the ship, splitting itself in two against the hull. Of the two poachers on board, one was left severely injured and one was killed. The Sharpie, along with the Mexican Navy, arrived minutes later. At the same time, the land crew was also attacked by poachers and cartel members.