A Bermudian woman was one of a crew of 28 conservationists stranded aboard a floundering ship in the icy cold waters off Nova Scotia yesterday.

Laura Dakin, a Cecile's employee and niece of English Sports Shop managing director David Hamshere, boarded the 54-metre Farley Mowat last week as part of an expedition to film a documentary about the birth of harp seals on the Magdalen Islands.

The boat, which is captained by Greenpeace co-founder Paul Watson, is owned by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an international group campaigning for the termination of the annual Canadian seal hunt. Mr. Hamshere told The Royal Gazette last night his niece was a "keen ecologist" with "a love of adventure" who was spending her vacation pursuing a cause dear to her heart.

But Captain Watson was forced to call the Joint Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax at 9 a.m yesterday after the vessel started taking on water 15 kilometres off St. Paul's Island in the Cabot Strait. The Farley Mowat's hull was breached after hours of breaking through a thick layer of ice on the ocean's surface.

However, a JRCC spokesman confirmed last night the "situation was under control" and the ship limped into Port aux Basques, Newfoundland at 8.30 p.m Bermuda time escorted by the coast guard.

"I am led to believe that the boat's water pumps were able to cope with the amount of water which was being taken on," the spokesman said.

"We did take extra water pumps out to them via a Cormorant helicopter in case things got worse. Luckily, the weather was pretty benign for this time of year so they weren't in too much trouble, although there was a fair amount of floating ice in the water so it was important to be cautious and take all the necessary safety measures."

The expedition has not been all plain sailing for the group even before the boat began to leak water, with the initial start date delayed after Canadian transport officials detained them in Halifax for two days because they did not possess the requisite documentation certifying the boat met all oil pollution standards.

Speaking from Port aux Basques last night, Capt. Watson claimed the delay was part of a devious ploy by the Canadian government to undermine the group's ambitions.

Part of their plan is to film a number of television advertisements with actor Richard Dean Anderson (of television series MacGyver fame) raising awareness of the seals' "plight" - an exercise Capt. Watson believes has not sat well with the Canadian government.

Transport Canada has vehemently denied the detention was politically motivated, although the government's sensitivity to graphic international media coverage of the bloody seal cull is well-documented.

The largest seal hunt on the Canadian east coast for over 50 years began in early 2004, with an estimated 140,000 harp seals shot or clubbed to death with no media or independent observers present.

Scores of campaigners have cried foul over the Canadian government's handling of the issue, with many claiming they have deliberately been denied permits to enter the area.

Seal hunters by contrast argue that their largely urban-based critics are ignoring the practical economic realities of life in marginal fishing communities where seal harvests bring a much-needed boost to the incomes of many struggling families.

The Canadian government continues to deny that the methods of hunting seals are in any way inhumane.