KEY POINTS:
Australian anti-whaling activist Benjamin Potts says he had to fight for his life when he was captured by a Japanese crew on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old Sydney man and Briton Giles Lane, 35, were detained by the Japanese whalers after the pair boarded the Yushin Maru No 2 to
deliver a letter of protest.
They were handed to Australian authorities aboard the Ocean Viking early this morning and returned to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's ship, the Steve Irwin, shortly before 10am (AEDT).
Speaking to AAP today via satellite phone shortly after his return, Potts said Japanese crew attacked him once he boarded their ship and tried to throw him overboard.
"A number of them grabbed us and they attempted to throw me overboard. They were unsuccessful because I held onto a guard rail. One bloke picked up my shoulders and the gunner picked up my legs," he said.
"My only thought was to prevent it from happening. It is not the sort of water you want to end up in. You can't live for very long in these waters," he said.
After he and Lane were captured Potts said he was tied to a lower deck, where sea water came up to his knees, before he was transferred to a mast where he was restrained for some time before being taken to a communications room.
Once there he said he was treated fairly, and given rice and noodles to eat, and green tea and water to drink.
After their first night they were given access to a bathroom so they could wash, he said.
Potts said he and Lane were kept in the dark about their fate while aboard the Japanese ship.
"We were denied any contact with our ship or with the Australian or British governments. The information we got we had to fight for and it came to us slowly and through someone who spoke minimal English," he said.
Potts said he finally learned he was to be returned to the Australian customs vessel, the Oceanic Viking, about 6.30pm (AEDT) (NZT 8.30pm) last night.
The pair had warned they they would start a hunger strike if they were not told what was going to happen to them, he said.
Potts told Fairfax Radio Network in Melbourne he had not thrown any acid around the Japanese ship as its crew had claimed.
He said other activists had used a non-corrosive substance "like rancid butter" to help clear the ship decks so he and Lane could board.
Sea Shepherd has admitted using foul-smelling butyric acid against Japanese ships in the past.
Lane, from southern England, said his ordeal had been worth it because it generated worldwide exposure to the anti-whaling cause, and stopped the Japanese hunt for several days.
"We would do more of the same without a second thought," Lane said.
"We did deliver our letter. They weren't overly happy to receive it, but it was passed up to the head of the fleet and no doubt the Japanese government as well," Lane said.
Spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, Glenn Inwood, said the whaling fleet had adopted new measures to protect its ships, their crew and scientists.
"They (Sea Shepherd) will probably try some other tactic," Mr Inwood told Sky News.
All Japan can do is go again and try to continue with its research program and deal with things as they occur."
- AAP
