CANBERRA, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Greens party have backed international law experts who argue that the Rudd government could stop whaling in the Southern Ocean "within weeks" by launching international legal action.

    Greens leader Bob Brown said federal Labor "should get off its backside and take action".

    "The government should be seeking such an injunction in the court," Senator Brown told reporters on Friday.

    Australian National University law expert Don Rothwell believes Australia could successfully win an injunction in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea "within three to four weeks".

    Canberra could argue Japan's so-called scientific whaling program was actually commercial whaling in disguise, Prof. Rothwell told ABC TV on Friday.

    "All commercial whaling is currently prohibited under the whaling convention." Rothwell said.

    "The number of whales that Japan takes is far in excess of what in any way could be legitimate scientific whaling," he added.

Anti-whaling ship sinks after collision

   WELLINGTON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand-registered whaling protest ship Ady Gil, which collided on Wednesday with a Japanese whaling ship in Australia's Antarctic waters, has sunk while being towed, New Zealand media reported on Friday.

The damaged powerboat Ady Gil, which belongs to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, floats near the Japanese ship Shonan Maru No. 2 after a collision between the two vessels in the Southern Ocean January 6, 2010. Anti-whaling activists accused Japanese whalers of ramming and sinking the high-tech protest boat in the frigid Southern Ocean on Wednesday, but Japan said that its ship could not avoid the collision. Picture taken January 6, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

   Paul Watson, spokesman of Sea Shepherd conservation society said the crew of the Bob Barker - the conservation group's newest ship to take to the waters - tried all day on Thursday to salvage the 1.5 million NZ dollars (1.1 million U.S. dollars) vessel. Full story

Anti-whaling ship holed in Antarctic clash

     CANBERRA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A protest ship has been holed in a collision with Japanese whalers on the high seas, Australian Associated Press reports Wednesday.

     Six crew members aboard the anti-whaling stealth ship the Ady Gill were rescued, one with broken ribs, after it and the Japanese whalers' ship the Shonan Maru 2 collided in remote Antarctic waters. Full story

Anti-whaling ship collides with Japanese vessel in Australia's Antarctic waters

    CANBERRA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Japanese whaling vessel and the protest ship the Ady Gill collided in Australia's Antarctic waters on Wednesday afternoon.

    All six crew members have been rescued. Full story

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