I'm an active member FWIW, and I can say with certainty that the 'Ady Gil' was 'donated' by a patron.
She cost the group nothing.
The idea behind acquiring such a craft is exactly as quoted, a fast interceptor capable of shadowing a target and directing the 'Steve Irwin' to the most advantageous rendezvous.
The whalers have always been given an unacceptable time window as the 'Irwin' is not fast enough to catch them before their fleet starts work, with a bit of luck she will be on top of them within an hour or less if projected course plotting works as we expect it to.
Cheezy, the Canadians 'confiscated' the 'Farley' several months ago, one of their really smart ideas as she was due for decommissioning right after the Seal Campaign.
They've been stuck with the cost of keeping her berthed, maintained and all the other costs involved in keeping such a craft tied up in a commercial port.

Wing Z, we really could care less about the 'image' thing, as you can see from the bulk of the knuckle-dragger's 'comments' under the report, Sea Shepherds are regarded as 'dangerous terrorists' by too many people.
FWIW, I really prefer 'committed conservationist' but I'll go with 'conservation terrorist' if that is what it takes.
