The co-founder of Greenpeace is preparing to set sail from Hull in April, leading a mission that seeks to protect whales from Icelandic poachers.

Formerly a Scottish Fisheries vessel, the John Paul Dejoria has now been repurposed to help prevent illegal whale poaching operations. The ship will be captained by Greenpeace co-founder Paul Watson, and crewed by a team of volunteers.

Paul Watson told the BBC the four-month mission would "oppose criminal operations, not legitimate companies". He then said his ship and his crew would "block, harass and get in the way", doing "anything possible" to prevent illegal whaling operations.

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Despite commercial whaling being outlawed in 1986 by the International Whaling Commission, many still disregard the law and continue to hunt animals for profit. A large concentration of this criminal activity takes place in the seas around Iceland, where whale populations remain relatively high.

Currently, the John Paul Dejoria is still being restored ahead of the crew's departure to Iceland near the beginning of April. It is being held in Hull's William Wright Dock until the anti-whaling mission begins.

A crew of 26 volunteers will run the ship
A crew of 26 volunteers will run the ship

Operations Director on the John Paul Dejoria, Locky Maclean said: "Iceland left the International Whaling Commission in 1992, but since then has been whaling commercially and exporting most of their whale meat to Japan. So we are going to Iceland this summer to put an end to Icelandic whaling once and for all."

Locky Maclean said the ship would "put itself into harm's way" to prevent hostile ships from harpooning and killing whales.

Amongst the 26 crew members of the John Paul Dejoria is Paul Barker, a retired driving examiner from Beverley, who said he "liked the idea of saving the whales". He continued: "I don't want them to be killed. Many others don't too. So I decided to give some of my time to prevent it," he added.

Mr Barker, 63, took up sailing as a hobby when he retired but said so far his only experience on water was "on small boats". He said the trip had given him "a reason to be really happy again".

Beverley's Paul Barker is amongst those onboard
Beverley's Paul Barker is amongst those onboard

Much has changed in the past 200 years, as Hull was once an epicentre for whaling in England, with the trade beginning in the city in the 1600s and peaking around 1820. That year, an astounding 62 whaling vessels returned with the produce of 688 whales, worth around £250,000, according to the Hull History Centre.

A whalebone factory was set up close to the city docks, with whale carcases used for everything from sofa backings to sieves and whale oil used to power street lighting and as an ingredient in margarine.

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