The captain of the Sea Shepherd conservation group's vessel Steve Irwin, says his boat and the damaged Brigitte Bardot have been followed on their journey to Western Australia by a Japanese security boat.
The Brigitte Bardot, with 10 crew on board, was chasing a Japanese whaling ship in six metre swells in the Southern Ocean as part of Sea Shepherd's anti-whaling campaign when a wave crashed into the port side of the vessel, cracking its hull.
Meanwhile, the conservation group's third ship, the Bob Barker - which has remained in the Southern Ocean monitoring Japanese whalers - confirmed its crew had been water-cannoned by a Japanese harpoon boat.
Australian Greens senator Bob Brown says the Australian Government should stand up to the Japanese fleet.
