The leader of the militant conservation group Sea Shepherd has accused Australia of doing little to stop Japan's annual whale hunt in Antarctic waters.
And Environment Minister Peter Garrett had failed miserably on the issue, Sea Shepherd Captain Paul Watson said.
Captain Watson will leave Brisbane on Thursday morning aboard the Sea Shepherd's flagship the Steve Irwin.
He aims to track down and harass a fleet of eight Japanese whaling ships in the Southern Ocean to stop them from taking their full quota.
Captain left as the sole defenders of whales in a protected sanctuary.
The Australian government has this year refused to send a Customs vessel to monitor the whalers. It claims to have gathered enough evidence during last year's hunt for any future legal challenge against Japan.
"I was hoping since the Rudd government has a star in the form of Peter Garrett things would have changed, but obviously he hasn't delivered and that is unfortunate," Capt Watson said.
"Really we shouldn't have to be doing this ... this is an established whale sanctuary and there is a moratorium on whaling - what is it that people don't understand about the law?"
The Steve Irwin will be the only protest vessel seeking to disrupt this year's hunt.
Greenpeace has said it will not send a ship, as it has for the previous nine years, instead focusing its efforts on the political campaign in Japan.
US actress Daryl Hannah has joined the Steve Irwin this season, along with 48 crew, half of whom are Australian.
They hope to catch up with the whalers, who left the Japanese port of Innoshima near Hiroshima last week, by the middle of this month.
Captain Watson expects more fierce confrontations, like those seen last year when stink bombs were hurled and activists detained.
The Sea Shepherd leader also claimed whalers opened fire on him last season.
Hannah, who will only participate in the initial leg of the Steve Irwin's voyage, said it was a "natural instinct" to protect whales.
"I've always been interested in protecting endangered species and protecting life on this planet - I think it's a natural instinct," the star of 1980s films Splash and Blade Runner said.
"I spent a lot of time under the ocean because I have been diving since I was seven ... so I have been made very aware of the devastation in the oceans."
Hannah hopes to rejoin the ship some time early next year after fulfilling work commitments.
The Steve Irwin is due to leave Brisbane at 7am (AEST) on Thursday.
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