Japanese whalers hurt in sea battle with Aussie activists

Anti-whaling protesters threw bottles containing a pungent chemical at a Japanese whaling ship in a skirmish near Antarctica yesterday, injuring three of the crew, Japan's Fisheries Agency said.

The whalers responded by spraying the activists, on a ship operated by the hardline Sea Shepherd group, with water from four hoses, an agency official said.

The whaling ship Nisshinmaru and the Sea Shepherd vessel came within 10 meters of each other during the exchange, which lasted over an hour until the activists had run out of missiles, he said.