HALIFAX – An RCMP tactical squad stormed and seized the anti-sealing vessel Farley Mowat today, in a provocative move the federal fisheries minister said would prevent "a bunch of money-sucking manipulators" from interfering with the annual hunt.

Paul Watson, head of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said the seizure of his ship and the arrests of two senior officers amounted to an "act of war" because the vessel is registered in the Netherlands.

Watson, speaking from New York, said armed officers from two coast guard vessels scrambled aboard the Mowat at around 11 a.m. ADT in the Cabot Strait – the body of water between Cape Breton and Newfoundland.

"(They) took command of the vessel, and .... they were screaming at people to lie down on the deck."

The environmental crusader said a communications officer aboard the ship was relaying details of the boarding via satellite phone when the connection was suddenly lost.

Later in the day, Hearn said the ship's captain and chief officer were arrested for allegedly violating Canada's marine mammal regulations and the Fisheries Act.

He said those charges were related to a high-seas confrontation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between the Farley Mowat and a coast guard icebreaker two weeks ago.

"We did the right thing," Hearn told a news conference in Ottawa. "I'd rather act when nobody is hurt, rather than react when somebody got killed."

The minister bristled at Watson's suggestion that the seizure represents a public relations coup for his movement as the European Union contemplates a ban on the importation of all seal products.

"These are a bunch of money-sucking manipulators," Hearn said. "Their sole aim is to try to suck as much money out of the pockets of people who really don't know what's going on," he said.

Last week, the department brought forward charges alleging the Farley Mowat's captain, Alexander Cornelissen, and First Officer Peter Hammarstedt broke rules that prohibit anyone without a valid observation licence from coming within 900 metres of the hunt.

Cornelissen is also charged under the Fisheries Act with obstruction or hindrance of a Fishery Officer or inspector.

However, Watson maintains the Farley Mowat doesn't have to submit to Canadian regulations.

Hearn rejected that claim, saying the Mowat was seized legally in Canada's "internal waters," without providing the specific location of the seizure.

Watson has argued that his vessel never entered Canada's 12-nautical-mile territorial limit, but Hearn said the Fisheries Act gave him the authority to take action beyond that line.

"This is just more mouthy talk by people who want to use this to their advantage," Hearn said. "Paul Watson is quarterbacking from his nice, posh hotel room in New York somewhere."

A spokesman for the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs at The Hague, Netherlands, said his government was attempting to learn more about the incident.

"For the moment, we are still verifying the facts, and seeking the opinion of the Canadian authorities and how they justify their acts of today," said Ahmed Dadou.

In Ottawa, Hearn noted the crew of the Mowat were "safe and unharmed" following the boarding, and their vessel would be taken to Sydney, N.S., by early Sunday.

Those charged were expected to appear in a Sydney court.

Watson said his group has plenty of graphic footage of seals being slaughtered and he believes the pictures will be damaging to Canada's reputation.

"I think we've embarrassed the hell out of the Canadian government and they're desperate," he said.

Hearn said the seizure had nothing to do with censorship and insisted the move was not aimed at boosting the federal Conservatives' flagging fortunes in his home province of Newfoundland.

"It is time something was done and something has been done and it has nothing to do with Newfoundland or what kind of shape we're in. This won't affect me politically one way or another," he said.

Meanwhile, the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, is awaiting a second report on the seal hunt before making its recommendation to the European Parliament, likely this summer.

The annual hunt started March 28 in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, then expanded last week to include a portion of the gulf west of Newfoundland. The main hunt, in an area north of Newfoundland known as the Front, started today.

On March 30, some seal hunters called for assistance from the coast guard, complaining that the Farley Mowat was getting too close to them on the ice floes about 60 kilometres north of Cape Breton.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The Fisheries Department later said its 98-metre icebreaker Des Groseilliers responded to the scene and was "grazed" twice by the 54-metre Farley Mowat.

But the conservation group said its ship was rammed twice by the icebreaker.

The crew aboard the Mowat said they were told not to approach an ice-covered area where seals were being slaughtered, but the crew did not comply with the order.

On April 5, Hearn said charges had been laid, but he did not say how or when the summonses would be served.

The charges, brought forward in Nova Scotia, could result in fines of up to $100,000 or up to one year in prison, or both.

The captain of the Cape Breton sealing vessel who called for help said the arrests were long overdue.

"It's time, it's high time, it's past time that they did something with them," said Pat Briand of Dingwall, N.S., the 55-year-old skipper of the Cathy Erlene.

Watson has denied the Farley Mowat got too close to the hunt and has released a video that shows the two vessels travelling briefly in a parallel course and then colliding twice.

The Sea Shepherd Society and previous incarnations have long used militant tactics to stop hunters from killing seals, whales and other marine wildlife.

The group claims to have sunk six whaling ships since 1979, saying no one was hurt in those actions.

During the 1980s, Watson harassed Russian whaling ships and Japanese dolphin hunters. In the mid-80s, he was tear gassed off the Faroe Islands when he tried to stop the sport kill of pilot whales.

In 1995, he scuffled with an angry mob of angry sealers on Iles-de-la-Madeleine when he went there to stage a protest with actor Martin Sheen.

To be sure, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Fisheries Department are no strangers to confrontation on the water.

On March 9, 1995, as Spain and Canada were locked in an emotional battle over the overfishing of turbot just beyond Canadian waters, the coast guard patrol vessel Cape Roger intercepted the Spanish trawler Estai, which cut its nets and fled.

After a lengthy pursuit, the crew of the Cape Roger fired four bursts from .50-calibre machine gun across the bow of the Estai, which then stopped and was seized by RCMP and Fisheries officers.