Sea Shepherd clash in icy waters

A Sea Shepherd crew member was knocked off a jetski into the icy waters off Antarctica yesterday in a stoush between whalers and conservationists.

The driver, 42-year-old Beck Straussner from the US, was blasted off the jetski by a water cannon fired by the crew of the Japanese harpoon vessel the Yushin Maru 2.

He was uninjured in the incident and managed to clamber back on to his craft as the harpoon vessel ploughed past him.

The clash resulted from an attempt by the Sea Shepherd flagship the Steve Irwin to shake the Yushin Maru 2 from its tail.

The incident took place off Marie Byrd Land, at about 3pm on Saturday.

Captain of the Steve Irwin Paul Watson said Mr Straussner reported being "cold" but was otherwise unharmed.

"In an effort to slow down the tailing harpoon vessel, the Steve Irwin deployed three inflatable boats and a jetski in an attempt to force the Yushin Maru No. 2 to fall behind to allow the Steve Irwin to escape," Capt Watson said.

"Beck was knocked off his jetski into subzero Antarctic waters when he was struck in the chest by one of the water cannons on the harpoon vessel. The Yushin Maru No. 2 did not stop to offer assistance."

It was the first clash between the two groups in more than three weeks.

Sea Shepherd has chased the whaling fleet more than 13,000 nautical miles across the Southern Ocean and says the whalers' catch is well down on its kill quota of nearly 1000 whales this season.