The captain of a protest ship following Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean has said he was shot at in clashes that saw his crew members pelted with flash grenadesne.
The captain of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society ship, Paul Watson, said he was shot in his bullet-proof vest.
Captain Watson did not detail the injuries of the crew member he said was hurt by a flash grenade.
However, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Japan had informed him that only warning devices were fired.
The captain said the crew of the Steve Irwin was throwing stink bombs at the whaling ship the Nisshin Maru when coast guards posted on the Japanese vessel responded with flash grenades.
He said he felt a thud during the confrontation and later found a bullet lodged in his Kevlar vest, which he said hit with enough force to bend a badge he was wearing under the protective device and bruise his chest.
The latest high-seas clash comes after Sea Shepherd activists on Monday hurled stink bombs on the Japanese whaling ship, slightly injuring three crew and coast guard members onboard, according to Japan.
The Sea Shepherd said it threw rotten butter that does not hurt anyone. Japanese officials described the substance as butyric acid, which is stinging to the eyes.
Japan kills up to 1,000 whales a year using a loophole in a 1986 global moratorium on whaling that allows lethal research on the giant mammals.
