Neptune's Navy

Since 1977, a number of vessels have served in the Sea Shepherd fleet to protect and defend the world's marine wildlife. We are proud to present the current fleet and historical information on those vessels that have come before them... some of which float no more.

THE CURRENT FLEET

R/V FARLEY MOWAT

In August 1996, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society purchased a new long-range, ice-class, heavy-duty, conservation enforcement ship in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Originally christened Sea Shepherd III, she was re-named Ocean Warrior in 1999 to reflect the missions and campaigns that face her in the new millennium.

She is definitely up to withstanding the ice floes of the Labrador coast, the harsh unpredictable waters of Antarctica and challenging any pirate whaler on the high seas.

The Ocean Warrior was built in 1956 as a Norwegian Fisheries research and enforcement ship. At 54 meters (180 ft) in length and 657 tons (displacement), her one-inch thick riveted, welded steel hull was built to withstand the violent pounding of the storm-haunted North Sea.

The ship's massive German-built diesel engine drives a variable pitch propeller that is protected inside a Kort nozzle. This means 1400 horsepower, coupled with the swift maneuverability of bridge control of he pitch.

In 2002, after months of bureaucratic paper shuffling and payments of extortionist demands by the Cayman Islands Bureau of Shipping, the Ocean Warrior was re-registered in Canada. She was renamed the Farley Mowat after Sea Shepherd's International Chair, Farley Mowat, Canadian author and animal welfare advocate.

The Sea Shepherd flagship, the R/V Farley Mowat officially began her career in the waters off Costa Rica appropriately immersed in controversy over policing actions against illegal fishing activities.

She is a protector, and a symbol of hope for a better, more humane, and more ecologically conscious future. The Farley Mowat is, has been, and will continue to be the world's greatest defender of marine wildlife.

SIRENIAN

This former U.S. Coast Guard patrol boat, built in 1955, was purchased by Sea Shepherd in 1991. She had powerful new engines installed in 1979, and can catch just about anything on the water.

She has gone up against Japanese pirate drift netters and played a leading role in the efforts to protect Gray Whales from being hunted off Neah Bay, WA. During the stand-off with whale hunt advocates the Sirenian was sabotaged in the fall of 1999 while in port in Seattle.

Recovered and fully overhauled, she left Seattle at the end of November 2000 for guard duty in the Galapagos National Park where she is today on 24 hour anti-poaching patrol. 

The Sirenian is crewed by the Galapagos National Park rangers and works in partnership with the Guadaloupe River to protect the GNP from illegal fishing activities.

Sea Shepherd's current fleet also includes various smaller craft including inflatables, kayaks, and personal watercraft. All are used for pelagic conservation work, education, research, and enforcement of international treaties.