An armed cruise ship has been floated as an idea to step up Australian action against Japanese whaling vessels.
The Oceanic Viking is leased by customs and it may be part of the Australian government's plan to get tough on slaughtering whales.
Japan is about to embark on a massive whale hunt of over 900 Minke whales and 50 Humpbacks.
The Oceanic Viking would spy on them with cameras and the footage used in the international court action by taken by Australia.
It is unlikely that the 50 calibre machine guns on the Ocean Viking would be used.
The whaling issue is a hot topic in Australia with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's government accusing the Howard administration of not doing enough to save endangered whales, and he promises his own administration will ramp up the campaign.
But talk of using the navy and air force in this battle could mean a diplomatic disaster with Japan.
"We will not tolerate any moves to obstruct our research whaling programme, which is approved under an international treaty. It is unacceptable," says Japan's Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Masatoshi Wakabayashi.
In New Zealand, Greenpeace is gearing up for a high seas confrontation with the whalers.
They say the cruise ship idea is not enough.
"We don't want this to be the only thing the Australian government is doing. They should step up diplomatic pressure and communicate with the Japanese Prime Minister on this issue," says Greenpeace New Zealand spokesman Karli Thomas.
However, the new Australian government is adamant it means business and will announce its anti-whaling plan in the next few days.
