RV ''Farley Mowat'' was a long-range,

ice class Ice class refers to a notation assigned by a classification society or a national authority to denote the additional level of strengthening as well as other arrangements that enable a ship to navigate through sea ice. Some ice classes also have ...

ship. Originally built as a Norwegian fisheries research and enforcement vessel, she was purchased by the

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action t ...

in Edinburgh, Scotland, in August 1996. Originally named Sea Shepherd III, the name was changed in 1999 to Ocean Warrior, before eventually being renamed in 2002 after Canadian writer

Farley Mowat Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Ca ...

. She was the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of Sea Shepherd's fleet until seized by the

Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; ) is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland ...

off the coast of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

in April 2008. She was sold for

Can$ The Canadian dollar (currency symbol, symbol: $; ISO 4217, code: CAD; ) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$ are frequently used f ...

5,000 by court order in November 2009 to Green Ship LLC, a company headquartered in Oregon. During 2010, she was moored in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, undergoing refit for operation as an expedition vessel for research in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. However, by 2011, the ship was on the market again to cover unpaid docking fees and was eventually sold in March 2013. The vessel, stripped of her superstructure having been purchased for scrap, sank at her berth at

Shelburne, Nova Scotia Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. History Shelburne lies at the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, at roughly the same latitude as Portland, Maine, in the United States. The Mi'kmaq people, Mi'kmaq call the large an ...

in June 2015 and was subsequently raised. The vessel remained laid up at Shelburne until July 2017, when the

hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

was taken away to be

broken up Ship breaking (also known as ship recycling, ship demolition, ship scrapping, ship dismantling, or ship cracking) is a type of ship disposal involving the breaking up of ships either as a source of Interchangeable parts, parts, which can be sol ...

Career

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society used the vessel to monitor international waters for violations of international fisheries agreements. ''Farley Mowat'' officially began her career in the waters off Costa Rica, immersed in controversy over policing actions against illegal fishing activities. In March and April 2008, ''Farley Mowat'' was involved in controversy related to the 2008 Canadian commercial seal hunt. On 12 April 2008, Fisheries and Oceans Canada seized ''Farley Mowat'' in the

Cabot Strait Cabot Strait (; , ) is in Atlantic Canada between Cape Ray, Newfoundland, and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. The strait, approximately 110 kilometres wide, is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlant ...

after the ship came near the seal hunt without an observation permit and two collisions with a coast guard vessel occurred. During the raid, the captain and first officer were arrested and later charged for the incident. While seized, ''Farley Mowat'' was held by

Fisheries and Oceans Canada Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO; ) is a department of the Government of Canada that is responsible for developing and implementing policies and programs in support of Canada's economic, ecological and scientific interests in oceans and inland ...

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...

until put up for sale. The location of the ship at the time of the seizure is controversial. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claims the ship was seized illegally in international waters. The Canadian Fisheries minister claims that the ship was seized in Canadian waters, but also that the Fisheries Act gave him authority to order the boarding outside Canada's

territorial waters Territorial waters are informally an area of water where a sovereign state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and potentially the extended continental shelf ( ...

zone of . The captain and first officer made a court appearance on 1 May 2008. On 2 July 2008, they entered a plea of not guilty to coming too close to sealers. Convicted in absentia in June 2009 on two counts each of approaching within of a seal hunt, the pair were sentenced on 10 September 2009 to fines totaling

45,000.

On 27 February 2009, the Canadian Crown-in-Council announced that ''Farley Mowat'' was being put up for sale to cover approximately

500,000 in berthing fees accrued since the April 2008 seizure. Subsequently, ''Farley Mowat'' was reportedly sold for

50,000, but the buyer did not complete the transaction. As of September 2009 the ship was still in the possession of the Canadian government and continued to accrue berthing fees. Sea Shepherd later stated that the seizure of the ship had been expected and, in fact, encouraged. Therefore, she had been used in provocation, with the full intention to have the Canadian government end up with, in their opinion, a more or less worthless vessel. ''Farley Mowat'' arrived in Halifax on 18 December 2009 for refit and was towed to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia where she was tied up . It was reported in November 2009 that the vessel has been sold for the sum of

5,000 to the Green Ship LLC subsidiary of Stephen Munson's organization Tenthmil to be used in a survey of the

North Pacific Gyre The North Pacific Gyre (NPG) or North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG), located in the northern Pacific Ocean, is one of the five major oceanic gyres. This gyre covers most of the northern Pacific Ocean. It is the largest ecosystem on Earth, loca ...

. , ''Farley Mowat'' remained berthed in

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Lunenburg () is a port town on the South Shore (Nova Scotia), South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia. Historically, Lunenburg's economy relied o ...

for a refit under the direction of Cliff Hodder. In early 2013, with unpaid docking fees on the order of

90,000 and Green Ship LLC apparently in

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

bankruptcy proceedings, the ship was sold at a sheriff's auction to an undisclosed buyer. The buyer was later identified as Tracy Dodds of Eastern Scrap and Demolition Services, a Halifax-based company; the purchase price was

9,200. The vessel sat in Lunenburg for several months, during which the superstructure was removed, before being evicted by the Lunenburg Waterfront Development Corporation for non-payment of docking fees. In early September 2013, ''Farley Mowat'' was towed to Shelburne, Nova Scotia, on the way to Meteghan, Nova Scotia, where she would be scrapped. On 24 June 2015, ''Farley Mowat'' sank at her berth and came to rest on the bottom of the harbour. The vessel was subsequently refloated and of pollutants were removed, with the Canadian Coast Guard incurring costs of some Can$815,000. Owner Tracy Dodds was found to be in contempt of court for failing to remove the vessel or pay Can$10,000 in penalties and fees. On 3 August 2016, Dodds was arrested in Wolfville, Nova Scotia on contempt charges and subsequently served 20 days in jail. As of 29 December 2016, the hulk of ''Farley Mowat'' remained docked in Shelburne, with over Can$130,000 in docking fees owing. In June 2017, the Canadian Coast Guard informed Shelburne city staff that the vessel would be removed in the following weeks to be

. On 26 July 2017, the hulk was towed away by Atlantic Towing under contract from the

Canadian Coast Guard The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG; ) is the coast guard of Canada. Formed in 1962, the coast guard is tasked with marine search and rescue (SAR), communication, navigation, and transportation issues in Canadian waters, such as navigation aids and i ...

to be broken up at

Liverpool, Nova Scotia Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore (Nova Scotia), South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality, which is the local governmen ...

Registration

''Farley Mowat'' registered under the Canadian flag in April 2002. In October of the same year, the government suspended her registration. The complete record of registration is unclear, but the latest record under Canadian Vessel Registration Query System is closing on 20 November 2006. The United Kingdom revoked the ship's registration in early December 2006; the same day it was issued. Sea Shepherd then received registration for her in Belize on 19 December 2006. Ten days later, on 29 December 2006, ''Farley Mowat'' cleared Australian Customs in

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent (Tasmania), River Derwent, it is the southernmo ...

, only hours before Belize struck her flag. During 2007, the ship operated without an officially recognised registration flag. In May 2007, Sea Shepherd issued a press release stating that the Mohawk long house of the

Iroquois Confederacy The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

, in response to the Canadian government action, had agreed to the ship (and Sea Shepherd's other ship '' Robert Hunter'') flying their flag. It was not clear if this was recognised as a registration by port authorities as the body is not internationally recognised as a country. The vessel was registered in the Netherlands in 2008.

Successor

In January 2015, Sea Shepherd USA purchased two recently decommissioned U.S. Coast Guard

Island-class patrol boat The Island-class patrol boat is a class of United States Coast Guard Cutter, cutters of the United States Coast Guard. Forty-nine of these boats were launched between 1985 and 1992, and while all have been retired from American service, several ...

s, one of which has been christened the MY ''Farley Mowat''.

In popular culture

* The vessel is featured in the 2007 film ''

Sharkwater ''Sharkwater'' is a 2006 Canadian documentary film written and directed by Rob Stewart. Helping to protect sharks, changing government policy, and inspiring the creation of shark conservation groups, ''Sharkwater'' is considered one of conservat ...

''. * She is featured in '' Eco-Pirate: The Story of Paul Watson'', a biopic on

Paul Watson Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American environmental, conservation and animal rights activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine conserva ...

's life as an activist. * The 2008 documentary '' At the Edge of the World'' features the ship during ''Operation Leviathan'' in the

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

in early 2007. * The ship is in the final minutes of S1E2 of the TV show ''

Haven Haven or The Haven may refer to: * Harbor or haven, a sheltered body of water where ships can be docked Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Haven (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter), from the novel series * Haven (comics), from the ''X-Men ...

''.

References

External links

Brief description of the vessel, with photos
from

society's site, dating to a visit ''Farley Mowat'' made to New Zealand.

from ttp://www.seashepherd.org SeaShepherd's site
Melbourne newspaper ''The Age'', Jan 10 2007

Indymedia report on vessel deregistration

* ttp://www.theage.com.au/news/national/sea-shepherds-all-at-sea/2007/02/08/1170524233638.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1 Melbourne newspaper ''The Age'', 9 February 2007 – All at seabr>ITU Call Sign: MANPIMO 5172602
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farley Mowat, RV Ships built in Bergen Research vessels of Norway Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ships Farley Mowat 1956 ships Maritime incidents in Canada Maritime incidents in 2008 Maritime incidents in 2015