The environmental group Greenpeace is promising a peaceful protest when its ship nears a Japanese whaling fleet heading for the South Pacific.
Greenpeace's ship Esperanza is trailing four Japanese vessels, whose crew have instructions to kill up to a thousand whales, including 50 humpbacks, for scientific research.
A Greenpeace spokesman onboard the Esperanza says they will take direct, non-violent action to try to stop whale hunting.
He says that usually involves Greenpeace members putting themselves in front of the whalers' harpoons to distract them.
