Game on, Japan

Capt. Paul Watson, the badass leader of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is preparing for his annual voyage to the Southern Ocean to battle Japan’s whaling fleet.

Watson and crew of the Steve Irwin (a ship christened last year in the name of the late animal activist) are scheduled to depart from Australia at the end of the month for their Antarctic Whale Defense Campaign: Operation Musashi (named after the great samurai warrior).

A longtime seaman, Watson had harsh words for Greenpeace, a foundation he co-founded, after learning the conservation group would not be sending its ship. That decision came after Japan announced it would be sending a Coast Guard gunboat to defend the whaling fleet.

“They can send the entire Japanese Navy down to the Southern Ocean if they like, but Sea Shepherd … will not be intimidated by this kind of brutal military thuggery. When we say we put our lives on the line to defend the whales, we mean it. It’s not just a slogan for us,” Watson said.