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A Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker and a ship steered by animal rights activists opposed to Canada's annual seal hunt collided in the Gulf of St Lawrence, officials say.
A Fisheries and Oceans department spokesman said the Coast Guard vessel Des Groseilliers twice "grazed" the Farley Mowat, owned by the militant Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Alex Cornelissen, captain of the Farley Mowat, said his vessel was "twice rammed" in the port stern after he ignored warnings not to approach sealers.
Canada's Fisheries and Oceans Minister Loyola Hearn accused the Farley Mowat crew of "attempting to provoke a confrontation" with the Coast Guard.
