I'd be interested to know what 'ramming' would entail.

The only 'ramming' I know of WRT recent events in Japanese whaling was when the whaling ship (much bigger than a greenpeace ship) rammed a greenpeace boat.

Usually greenpeace come between the whale and the boat, preventing the whalers from - what I can only call murdering - the whales. (as I mentioned above - the cruel and unusal method of killing cannot be compared to methods used to kill other animals for food).

While I agree with Kijana that ramming another boat in any circumstances should be avoided, and especially in the icy waters of the antarctic (and I know people who fish those oceans - and IMHO you've got to be mad to go there in any case), I'm not really sure that what we are talking about here is all that dangerous. Its more a protest - and a symbolic protest.

I guess however after being rammed for coming between whalers and a minke whale, its not surprising that Greenpeace might talk about ramming. Better to be the rammer than the rammee - and if the whalers are going to ram greenpeace for coming between the whale and the harpoon - I'd be fully on the side of ramming the whaler.