The Sea Shepherd has posted the £520,000 bond requested by the British courts due to a civil by Maltese fishing company Fish and Fish Ltd enabling the Steve Irwin to soon depart to the Faeroes for Operation Ferocious Isles.
The Steve Irwin will join the vessel Brigitte Bardot and her crew, who are already onsite to defend pilot whales, the Sea Shepherd said in a newsletter to supporters.
"Due to the generosity of our supporters around the world, we have raised over USD$735,000 to save our flagship Steve Irwin—less than two weeks after the launch of our SOS! - Save Our Ship fundraising campaign!
"Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible for us to fund a bond to release the vessel from detainment. Together, we will continue to make a difference."
On July 15, the Steve Irwin was detained in the Scottish Shetland Islands pending Sea Shepherd's ability to fund a bond they estimated to be in the amount of USD$1.4 million.
The British court set the bond today at £520,000 (approximately USD$846,290) and Sea Shepherd posted the bond.
A court date has not been set for the civil case brought against Sea Shepherd by Fish & Fish Limited.
"Sea Shepherd is ready to battle with this company that is contributing to the demise of the imperiled bluefin. We firmly believe we caught their boats red-handed, unlawfully taking bluefin tuna from Libyan waters. We have evidence, and we look forward to our day in court against these plunderers of the ocean," Sea Shepherd said.
"We will not be unsettled or bullied by their wealth and their reputation of using litigation to silence their opposition. The bluefin tuna is on the threshold of extinction," said Sea Shepherd founder and president Captain Paul Watson.
"We owe it to this species to fight the poachers on the sea, in the media, and in the courts. We acted justly in intervening against their illegal operation. And win or lose, we believe that the bluefin tuna—an awesome, magnificent species on the brink of extinction—is worth whatever money and effort we can muster to save it."
Sea Shepherd's mission Operation Blue Rage will continue to intervene against bluefin tuna poachers, he said.