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Australian police boarded and searched an anti-whaling ship at the request of Japanese authorities on Saturday after activists cut short their annual harassment campaign and returned to port.
Police said they searched the Steve Irwin after it docked in Hobart, Tasmania, but refused to reveal the reasons for the search warrant or what they found on board.
"As a result of a formal referral from Japanese authorities, the Australian Federal Police can confirm it conducted a search warrant in boarding the Steve Irwin this morning," a police spokesman said.
"As enquiries are ongoing, it's not appropriate to comment any further."
The Steve Irwin, flagship of the Sea Shepherd conservation group, curtailed its harassment activities around the Antarctic, which involve blocking the Japanese whalers' path and hurling rancid butter at the controversial fleet.
A high-tech powerboat brought into the fray by the activists for the first time was dramatically scythed in two during a confrontation in January.
The boat's captain later boarded a Japanese ship trying to make a citizen's arrest of the captain and hand over a three million US dollar bill. He remains in Japanese custody.
