Japan sent a military icebreaker ship to the Southern Ocean to protect its whaling fleet against the anti-whaling activists.  So says Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd as he shadows the Japanese whalers.

Watson says they recognized its identification signature on radar. 

The Shirase icebreaker may be getting involved, because Sea Shepherd is blocking the whaling ships from refueling.  The Shirase has three helicopters that can assist the whalers in getting around the activists in future fuel runs.  

But Watson says the refueling ship itself is posing a problem.  It’s not an ice-class vessel, and has been operating in an area with floating ice, running the risk of a major oil spill in the relatively pristine South.