Here is the latest for everyone from the yearly eco-drama being played out in the Southern Ocean for the benefit of Animal Planet cameras:

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has denied claims by the Japanese Institute for Cetacean Research that the environmental group’s ship that was chasing whalers was armed, and that its wreck is now leaking fuel into the Antarctic Ocean.

The Ady Gil, a New Zealand-registered powerboat that is part of Sea Shepherd’s protest against Japan’s annual whaling expedition, was left to sink in Antarctica Friday after it was involved in a collision with the whalers’ Shonan Maru No. 2 on Jan. 6.

The institute posted a video on its Web site that allegedly shows fuel leaking from the sunken Ady Gil.

“We removed all fuel and lubricants from the ship and notified authorities to let them know” it was sinking, Jeff Hansen, Australian director of the Sea Shepherd, said. The whalers “just need some way to try and get the heat off them. It’s completely not true.”

The institute’s claims that the Ady Gil was armed are also untrue, Hansen said.

Sea Shepherd has filed a piracy claim against the captain and crew of the Shonan Maru No. 2 in the Netherlands, Agence France Presse reported, citing the environmental group’s legal representative, Liesbeth Zegveld. It will also pursue a civil suit for damages to the Ady Gil, she said.

The sinking is a 1.5 million Australian dollar ($1.4 million) loss to the Sea Shepherd, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Friday, citing founder Paul Watson.

The Australian government hasn’t ruled out the prospect of taking legal action against the whalers, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said in an interview on Channel Nine’s “Weekend Today” program. The Shonan Maru No. 2 was in Australian waters when the collision occurred.  [Japan Times]

Okay, whatever…..