The Japanese whalers and two Greenpeace ships have been playing cat and mouse in Antarctic waters for almost a week but were now simply intent on riding out the storm, campaign leader Shane Rattenbury told AFP by satellite phone from onboard the Arctic Sunrise.

"We're having a rough day," he said. "We're in the middle of a force 10 storm with wind gusts of 55 knots.

"You could say it's a good Christmas in the sense that there's no whaling going on today, it's a bit of a Christmas present for the whales."

Rattenbury said feelings were mixed among the crews of the two Greenpeace boats, the Esperanza and Arctic Sunrise.

"Obviously people are missing their family and friends but there's also a sense that we're doing something out here that's making a difference and saving the whales," he said.

"We had a few Christmas beers last night and now we're quietly riding out the storm."

Earlier, another protest ship, the Sea Shepherd's Farley Mowat, reported it almost collided with one of the Japanese vessels.

When conditions have permitted in the past week, protesters have placed their inflatable boats between the harpoons and the whales, prompting the Japanese to spray them with fire hoses.

The International Whaling Commission imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986 but Japan says its whale hunts are carried out for scientific research.

Critics, such as the Australian government, say the program is a cover for commercial killing of whales for consumption in Japan, where whalemeat is popular.

Despite international protests, Japan has this year more than doubled its planned catch of minke whales to 935 and added 10 endangered fin whales, with plans to eventually lift the number to 50, along with 50 rare humpback whales.

Australia has declared a whale sanctuary in a large swathe of the Southern Ocean that it considers to be its Antarctic territory but the refuge is not recognised by Japan.

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