Japanese whalers accused of sinking protest boat

This is probably the first Bath these Hippies have had in months .

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Anti-whaling activists accused Japanese whalers of ramming and sinking a high-tech protest boat in the frigid Southern Ocean on Wednesday, but Japan said that its ship could not avoid the collision.

The Australian government called for restraint by all parties after the hardline Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said its futuristic powerboat Ady Gil was cut in half by the Japanese security ship Shonan Maru No. 2.

All six crew were rescued, but the collision left one activist with two broken ribs and the A$1.5 million ($1.37 million) carbon-fiber trimaran was sinking, Sea Shepherd said.

"We believe it was deliberate. Our ship had come to a complete stop and they basically came straight down on top of them. They cleaned them up," the group's Australian director Jeff Hansen told Reuters.

Japan's Fisheries Agency said the collision took place when Ady Gil suddenly slowed down as it crossed in front of Shonan Maru, which had warned the boat of impending danger.

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