Early this morning the Japanese harpoon ship Yushin Maru III was holding fast in Australia’s World Heritage Area and territorial waters off Macquarie Island.  This is despite a call from Australia to have the ship exit our territory.

The ship is breaking Australian law which prohibits the entry of such vessels into our exclusive economic zone as well as territorial waters.

“At this stage a naval vessel should be dispatched to the Macquarie Island World Heritage Area to assert Australian law,” Senator Brown said.