But Yasuaki Sasaki, the ship's captain, won't release the men until the safety of his vessel is guaranteed. "Immediately that Paul Watson has accepted the conditions of the safety of the Japanese vessel, they will release the two illegal intruders," the chief of the whaling section of The Fisheries Agency of Japan, Hideki Moronuki, said.

The Japanese crew "tried to throw them overboard, then they tied them to a bulkhead and were beating them", Mr Watson said. But Mr Moronuki said "nobody took violent action against the two illegal intruders". Treated very humanely

"They are treated very, very humanely and they are provided with a warm, delicious hot meal," Mr Moronuki said. "They have [a] warm, nice bath and they are provided [with a] nice bed with clean white sheets so they are in very good condition."

He said "hostage" was "not a proper word" to describe the men held on the Japanese ship. Mr Moronuki said he knew nothing about comments by Mr Smith that the Japanese Government said late last night that the two men would be released. Mr Moronuki said the men had "illegally intruded on one of our research vessels".

Very sensitive to intruders "Because of the past dangerous, illegal activists conducted by Sea Shepherd members, our researchers and crew are very, very sensitive to intruders," he said.

Mr Moronuki said Sea Shepherd had lied repeatedly about its activities. "I could ask you not to be manipulated by Sea Shepherd," he said. "It is quite easy for you to understand they lie so many times.

"As I repeatedly explain to the Australian mass media, Japan has conducted perfectly legal activities, while Sea Shepherd has been conducting very dangerous actions." Foreign Minister calls for co-operation

Mr Smith told Sky News he sought and received assurances from the Japanese Government that the two men would be released, but as of this morning that had yet to happen. "Late last night I was advised [that] the Japanese had agreed to this and they had instructed the relevant whaling ship to return the men to the Steve Irwin," he told ABC Radio. "The most important thing here is the safety and welfare of the two men concerned and we do, as the Australian Government, want their immediate release.

"My most recent advice, which is in the last hour, is that that transfer has not yet occurred and I'm calling upon both parties, both the Steve Irwin and Sea Shepherd and the Japanese whaling vessel, to effect immediately their safe return of the two men concerned." He refused to comment on what possible action could be taken by Australia over the alleged abduction of the two, except to say the federal police would "evaluate whatever suggestions are made" by both sides.

Intruders considered pirates An international law expert at the Australian National University said the two anti-whaling activists could be considered pirates and in breach of Japanese law. "Any unauthorised boarding of a vessel on the high seas could be viewed as an act of piracy," Professor Don Rothwell said.

Sea Shepherd international director Jonny Vasic told Sky News the Steve Irwin was attempting to track and follow the Yushin Maru No.2 while it had the pair aboard. "We don't know if the two men are safe at the moment. We've had no contact with them since they were taken."

He denied that Sea Shepherd's actions in the Antarctic were provocative. "What's provocative to us is that the Japanese are in the Australian Whale Sanctuary killing whales," he said. He also said such action would not have been necessary if countries such as Australia and Canada were more forceful in their opposition to whaling.

"Where is this monitoring that Kevin Rudd and Peter Garrett promised us?" - with Dylan Welch and Glenda Kwek