Sea Shepherd claims to have caught Japanese whalers in Australian water with dead minke

Sea Shepherd claims to have found a Japanese ship in the Australian Whale Sanctuary with a dead minke whale on its flensing deck.

The Nisshin Maru whaler factory ship was spotted by the helicopter of Sea Shepherd's MY Steve Irwin as the crew allegedly scrambled to hide the slaughtered whale with a tarp, while the fleet's harpoons were also quickly covered.

"The whale killers from the Nisshin Maru were caught red-handed slaughtering whales in the Australian whale sanctuary," Ocean Warrior Captain Adam Meyerson said on Sunday.

"The Steve Irwin has shut down their illegal operations and caught them trying to hide the evidence."

It comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Australia.