Graham, I will test your sentiments for the fourth estate and your hopes for the 'tangled web'; as you espouse in the last few paragraphs of your article.

For record purposes: Piers Akerman writing in the Daily Telegraph on January 17 2006, echoes the thrust of your message, and pulls together a whole closet of hand-me downs to create a veritable ensemble out of sheer dissembly.
Radio National's COUNTERPOINT, broadcast January 23 2006 has Michael Duffy talking to Shane Rattenbury (GP), and Glenn Innwood (ICR) about the incident. Counterpoint's web page has a transcript and MP3 link.

I've just discovered a webcam on the Greenpeace site; behind the weblog and webcam buttons. Time is GMT. so it's dark at the moment.
.......................To be continued................................

ESPERANZA has docked in Capetown, and the live-webcam looking forward over the bow, is showing nothing but darkness.
http://oceans.greenpeace.org/en/photo-audio-video/live-webcam

Graham continues (Ambit Gambit) to besmirch Green peace. I will describe as best I can the features of the evidence provided by both ICR, and Greenpeace; with a sideways, but crucial look at SSCS (Sea Shepherd Conservation Society).
Please archive all of the videos now, so that we are looking at the same footage.

The shorter of the ICR videos at 00'42" is a single take from the bridge of Nisshin Maru, starboard side. It starts at the time-equivalent of 01'12", of the longer(from another angle) video. Both then provide time equivalent, but different views of the "approach", contact, second contact, and regression of Arctic Sunrise behind the stern of Nisshin maru. The longer video "dwells" a little longer, to picture the Arctic Sunrise at a position astern of Nisshin Maru, and at 7 o'clock. To be continued...

The ICR video, coded GPAS1 (00'42") starts at :-

00.00" A fleeting glimpse of zodiac behind and to port of A.S. Disturbed water around stern.
00.01" Audio starts: "STOP THE....." Camera is lowered very quickly to rail and back.
00.02" Here, A.S. is headed straight for camera position. Note the angle between rail and A.S. Store this image, and compare with ICR still photograph of impending contact.
00.03" On A.S., note position of cameraman (port rail), and figure directly below. Also note 'lazy' bow wave.
00.04" Glimpse of zodiac through forest of aerials atop bridge of A.S.
00.05' Note turbulence at stern of Nisshin Maru (water cannon?)
00.07" A.S. cameraman retreats from rail.
00.07" Zodiac visible.
00.13" Contact made (sound) N.M. crewman below bridge leans on rail.
00.16" A lot of camera shake from 00.13" to 00.16".
00.19" A.S. cameraman returns to rail.
00.25" N.M. crew on main deck run to starboard.
00.30" Second contact (sound)
00.36" A.S. is now clear of N.M. stern. Note distinctive cloud.
00.42" Audio ends "KEEP AWAY...."

Time from initial contact, to time when A.S. rounds stern of N.M., is about 22 seconds. In that period, A.S. has travelled 59 metres.
Sideways! ........To be continued......

No time to post today, Monday will have to do.

I looked in on Sea Shepherd site. Makes interesting reading.

http://www.seashepherd.org/news/media_060130_1.html

Clink, what's this "Zodiac" you're talking about? And have you any idea how difficult it would be to get a ship the size of the Nisshin Maru to travel sideways? And how is it you can assert that something happened that no-one else even reports? Just repeating so-called facts doesn't establish your position. What is quite clearly demonstrated by the videos is that the Greenpeace ship rammed the other one. Doesn't matter how you slice and dice it.

Graham, the 'zodiac' I mentioned and will again, is the colloquial name for an inflatable boat. It is a brand name.
http://www.zodiacmilpro.com/product/sbyt/info/630frb.pdf

I don't infer that the Nisshin Maru travelled sideways.

The Arctic-Sunrise, merely by being in close proximity to a moving vessel, did "appear" to move "sideways".
Said vessel, the Nisshin-Maru, was travelling at 9.5 Km/Hour.......

I'll explain further tomorrow..........