MV John Paul DeJoria

Original ship/paint scheme: USCGC Block Island
History
United States
Name	Block Island
Namesake	Block Island
Owner	United States Coast Guard
Builder	Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, Louisiana
Yard number	226[1]
Completed	12 July 1991[1]
Decommissioned	14 March 2014[2]
Identification	Hull number: WPB-1344
Fate	Transferred to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
History
Name	Jules Verne (2015–2017) John Paul DeJoria (2017–2022)
Owner	Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Port of registry	Bridgetown, Barbados
Acquired	January 2015
In service	2017-2022
Out of service	2022
Identification	IMO number: 4685353 Call sign: J7AB9 MMSI number: 325942000
Fate	Scrapped in Mexico
General characteristics
Class and type	Island-class cutter
Displacement	168 tons
Length	110 ft (34 m)
Beam	21 ft (6.4 m)
Draft	6.5 ft (2.0 m)
Propulsion	2 Paxman Valenta or Caterpillar diesels
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range	3,300 miles
Endurance	5 days

MV John Paul DeJoria (formerly USCGC Block Island (WPB-1344)) was a former United States Coast Guard cutter owned and operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Until scrapped, she was used in their direct action campaigns against illegal fisheries activities.[3]

In January 2015, Sea Shepherd purchased two decommissioned Island-class patrol boats from the United States Coast Guard, capable of a top speed of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph). They were USCGC Block Island and USCGC Pea Island, and were renamed MV Jules Verne and MY Farley Mowat after famous authors, respectively.[3] They were joined by another ex-USCG island class cutter in December 2017, the MV Sharpie.[4]

MV John Paul DeJoria in Stock Island, FL

Jules Verne was then renamed MV John Paul DeJoria on 31 January 2017, honouring Sea Shepherd supporter John Paul DeJoria.[5][6] Under the new name, the ship's first mission was to join the search for the missing filmmaker Rob Stewart in the Florida Keys.[7]

John Paul DeJoria II

In December 2022, it was announced that the former Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency patrol vessel Vigilant had been acquired by Captain Paul Watson's newly founded environmental protection organization Captain Paul Watson Foundation and re-named John Paul DeJoria.[8][9][10]

See also

• Neptune's Navy, Sea Shepherd boats
• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society operations

References

1. "Bollinger Shipyards". Shipbuilding History. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
2. "Cutter Block Island retires". JDNews.com. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
3. "Sea Shepherd Welcomes the Farley Mowat and the Jules Verne to its Fleet". Sea Shepherd Global. June 2, 2015. Archived from the original on June 11, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2015.
4. Sea Shepherd Launches New Anti-poaching Vessel M/V Sharpie Archived 2017-12-08 at the Wayback Machine. Sea Shepherd. 7 December 2017.
5. "Sea Shepherd Launches Its Newest Vessel, The M/V John Paul DeJoria". Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 2017-01-24. Archived from the original on 2017-03-04. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
6. "Sea Shepherd Launches Anti-Poaching Vessel M/V John Paul DeJoria". Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. 2017-02-01. Archived from the original on 2017-05-18. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
7. Whelan, Stephan (2017-02-03). "Search Enters Third Day For Sharkwater Director Rob Stewart Off Florida Keys". DeeperBlue.com. Retrieved 2017-04-11.
8. "Introducing the first ship of Neptune's Navy". Howler Magazine. December 2, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
9. Watson, Paul (December 2022). "We Have a New Ship: The John Paul DeJoria". all-creatures.org. Captain Paul Watson Foundation. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
10. "Eco-warrior Paul Watson, Scourge of Whalers, Returns to the Seas".

External links

• Sea Shepherd Worldwide Fleet