I Didn't Sink That Boat says 'WHALE WARS' STAR

Paul Watson -- the animal rights activist who stars on "Whale Wars" -- tells TMZ he's been FALSELY accused of sinking the famous Ady Gil anti-whaling ship ... and is now pointing the finger at the ship's captain.

We broke the story ... Watson is being sued by the ship's namesake Ady Gil. -- who claims he owned the vessel and leased it to Watson's Sea Shepherd organization. In his suit, Gil says the ship suffered minor damage in a fender bender with a Japanese whaling ship in 2010 and could have been repaired -- but Watson secretly had the ship destroyed so he could blame the whalers and gain publicity for his animal rights group.

But, in a statement to TMZ, Watson denies ANY wrongdoing and says ... "It seems like Ady Gil is simply frustrated that he could not get justice from the Japanese whalers who did sink his boat and has decided to lash out at us [Watson and the Sea Shepherd Org.] instead."

Watson claims the person who should REALLY get the blame for the crash is the ship's captain -- Peter Bethune -- who "negligently stopped his ship in the path of the whaling vessel and it was cut in half."

Watson says there is video of the crash that backs up his story.

This lawsuit filed by Ady Gil is somewhat mystifying. It seems like Ady Gil is simply frustrated that he could not get justice from the Japanese whalers who did sink his boat and has decided to lash out at us instead.

His timing is also mystifying in that he waited three years and filed this suit just as we arrived in the Sanctuary this year to protect the whales. He also waited until we were battling an injunction by the U.S. Courts filed by Japan at the same time I have been made a fugitive based on accusations by his skipper Pete Bethune.

I really don’t have the time to deal with Mr. Gil’s strange lawsuit until after we have chased the whalers from the Southern Ocean this year, but when we do get around to answering him, I am sure our lawyers will have little trouble dismissing this suit as petty and frivolous.

The Ady Gil was owned by Ady Gil and skippered by Peter Bethune. Ady Gil bought the vessel from Bethune and hired him to be the skipper of the vessel. Pete Bethune selected his own crew. They were not Sea Shepherd crew except for one Sea Shepherd member on board as a liaison. Peter Bethune was never under my command and I did not give him any order and I certainly did not order him to destroy his own ship.

One only needs to watch the video to see that Bethune negligently stopped his ship in the path of the whaling vessel and it was cut in half. New Zealand Maritime Safety investigated the collision and their report clearly states that the loss of the Ady Gil was caused 50% negligence by Pete Bethune and 50% negligence by the Japanese whalers.

That is the result of the official investigation which contradicts these allegations by Gil.

So to sum up, the Ady Gil was not a Sea Shepherd ship and not under my command. It was owned by Ady Gil and under the command of Pete Bethune. As her captain it was his responsibility to look to the safety and security of his ship. As I was not in command of the Ady Gil I had no part in any decision regarding navigation or operations of the vessel and I made no decision to abandon the vessel.

Ady Gil may have the money and the time to waste on this frivolous lawsuit but we really have much more important priorities, the first of which is to stop the Japanese whaling fleet from illegally killing whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

Ady Gil paid Pete Bethune a million dollars for the vessel and now he wants us to give him five million dollars. Unfortunately for him he does not have the evidence to back up these unsubstantiated allegations. We on the other hand videotaped everything.

But the question must be asked: Did Ady Gil send his boat down to the Southern Ocean to support Sea Shepherd’s campaign to save the lives of the whales or was it just to have his name on a boat that would be in a TV show?  Personally I did not get the impression that Mr. Gil was that concerned about the whales. When his name was painted on the boat originally, he told Bethune’s crew to remove it and put it back on in larger letters.

Read more: http://www.tmz.com/2013/01/16/whale-wars-star-captain-paul-watson-ady-gil-lawsuit/#ixzz2I9rUMXDy