It has not made much news but there has been a death reported upon the infamous Japanese floating whaling factory, Nisshin Maru. The website of the Institute for Cetacean Research, the face of the Japanese whaling industry, has stated that a crewmember was crushed on a conveyor belt during a Whale processing operation. This makes two dead crewmembers who died in industrial accidents on the Nisshin Maru in less than a year.

The Nisshin Maru--There is nothing to see here, the deck of this ship looks completely safe.

The Nisshin Maru--No seriously, this looks completely safe.

Japanese whaling ships, like the Nisshin Maru are essentially floating factories full of industrial solvents and chemicals, if one of these mismanaged deathtraps were to sink while illegally whaling in Antarctica--the favorite haunt for Japanese whalers--it could lead to a catastrophe that would make the Exxon Valdez spill look like a "shart."

Read.

Who Sharted?

--El Tiburon

P.S. If you don't know what a shart is, google it.

technorati tags: Japan, Japanese Food, Whaling, Whales, industrial accidents, labor unions, seafood, worker safety, Exxon Mobile, Exxon Valdez, oil, Antarctica, Nisshin Maru, Sea Shepherd, Institute for Cetacean Research, shart, Google