Bermudian Laura Dakin, speaking from a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel, said the group is confident it’s ruined the season for Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean.During a break from her duties aboard the Steve Irwin, Ms Dakin said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if the whalers turned around and packed it in. They’ve really been stumped this year.”The Steve Irwin has been in pursuit of the whaling ship Nisshin Maru for 27 straight days, and on January 25 finally caught up with it.Ms Dakin said: “Their tanker hasn’t had a chance to refuel them, and we’ve got two kill ships trailing us right now which is great, because it means they’re not killing whales.”The Nisshin Maru, whose Facebook page is dominated by fierce arguments with environmentalists, is the world’s only “factory ship” to process dead whales.Ms Dakin, who joined the Sea Shepherds five years ago, said this year’s campaign against whale ships has been “by far the most successful” in Antarctic waters.“We’ve had the Nisshin Maru running from day one. We made it here before them, and we’re going to keep after them right up to the bitter end.”According to Ms Dakin, Japan’s whaling fleet has only managed to kill about 30 whales this season.“They’d normally get about 500,” she said.Minke whales are most commonly targeted, but the Shepherds say the Japanese ships also target endangered fin whales and humpbacks.Although much of Ms Dakin’s time is spent down in the galley, where she works as a chef, she said her mission in far southern waters has allowed her to see “orcas, a few pods of pilot whales, icebergs and penguins it’s really been beautiful, flat and calm, and perfect conditions for our search. Unfortunately, that makes conditions good for whalers as well.”The Sea Shepherds are careful not to reveal too much about their missions, but Ms Dakin said this mission was “the longest we’ve been at sea without refuelling or re-provisioning. We’ve been pretty smart this time.”She said she keeps in contact with family back in Bermuda and looks forward to stopping off home.“When we go after the Canadian seal hunters there’s usually an opportunity to stop in Bermuda.”Captain Paul Watson, of the Steve Irwin, said Bermuda had been a first base of operations for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which was founded in 1977.“We have a lot of support on the Island. Back in 1979 we were given a berth in Dockyard before we went after the whaler Sierra.”He said he was confident of the pursuit of the Nisshin Maru until the whaling season finishes at the end on March.