Animal Rights Group Says It Sank Whaling Ship

Animal rights activists claimed responsibility for the sinking of a whaling ship in a Norwegian port last month. Police said they did not know how the Willassen Senior went down in Svolvaer, north Norway, on 31 August, but suggested it might have been due to an open valve in the machine room. A group calling itself Agenda 21 said on a US-based website that it scuppered the ship. "After ensuring that the vessel was unoccupied, the salt water intake valve was opened, unleashing a torrent of water into the heart of the killer ship," it said.Willassen SeniorThe group said it was "celebrating the end of commercial whaling in Iceland" by sinking the Norwegian vessel. Reykjavik said last month that it would not issue new permits for whale hunts until demand rises and it can sell the meat to Japan. Several whaling ships have been targeted by saboteurs since Norway resumed commercial hunts in 1992, despite a moratorium by the International Whaling Commission.