Bob Barker ship manager Andrea Gordon spoke to The Examiner from Hobart yesterday as the crew prepared to depart for the Antarctic.

The US woman, preparing for her fifth campaign, said Japanese whalers were becoming increasingly forceful each year.

The group last year protected 932 of the animals from illegal whaling.

"Every single whale is not just a life but costs them a lot of money," Ms Gordon said.

She said one of Sea Shepherd's vessels was last year rammed and run over by illegal whalers.

"We just stay focused on our mission," she said.

"If we're not there, there won't be anyone there."

Ms Gordon said the ship would leave Hobart as soon as whaling fleets reached the Southern Ocean. Its 33 crew members will be in the Antarctic for about three months, while vessels Steve Irwin and Sam Simon are expected to leave from Melbourne.

Greens spokesman for whaling Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said the Coalition had indicated a strong response against illegal whaling.

"These are Australian whales, mothers and calves, that we see frolicking when we go to the beach," Senator Whish-Wilson said.

"The fact is it is an international whale sanctuary and what the Japanese are doing is, under Australian law, illegal."

Senator Whish-Wilson will next week write to Environment Minister Greg Hunt, urging the government to implement its dedicated vessel in the fight against illegal whaling.