Iceland Seizes Paul Watson Foundation’s Anti-Whaling Ship and Detains Its Crew
The Coast Guard said Bandero ignored repeated orders to leave and 17 fin whales had been reported hunted by July 17, fueling the dispute.
- On Friday, July 31, Icelandic Coast Guard and special forces seized the Bandero, a 65-metre anti-whaling vessel, after it entered Iceland's 12-nautical-mile territorial waters while monitoring the whaling ship Hvalur 9.
- The Captain Paul Watson Foundation, founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, launched its 'Operation 86' campaign this summer to monitor Iceland's commercial whaling activities after the nation lifted a two-year suspension.
- Responding to safety reports from Hvalur 9 crew on Thursday evening, special forces boarded the Bandero shortly before midnight after the vessel reportedly ignored directives to stop its engines.
- The Bandero arrived in Reykjavik on Friday, where authorities detained 21 crew members aboard the vessel without phones; Icelandic broadcaster RUV reported police will likely seek to deport them and ban them from Iceland.
- Anti-Whaling activist Paul Watson was not aboard during the seizure; he served five months in Greenland in 2024 after arrest on a Japanese warrant for obstructing a whaling ship in 2010.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Iceland's coast guard and special forces seized a ship operated by a group founded by environmental activist Paul Watson and detained its crew, officials in the Arctic island nation announced today.
The Bandero, a ship of the foundation of animal rights activist Paul Watson, was arrested on Thursday evening off Iceland after obstructing the activity of Hvalur 9, one of the last two commercial whalers still operating in Iceland.
The Toronto Star
Iceland seizes Paul Watson Foundation’s anti-whaling ship and detains its crew
LONDON (AP) — Icelandic coast guards and special forces seized a ship operated by a group founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson and detained its crew, officials in the Arctic island nation said Saturday.
The police in the capital area have not requested the detention of the crew of the Bandero, the ship of the Paul Watson organization. This is confirmed by Ásgeir Þór Ásgeirsson, Deputy Chief of Police. The crew was arrested on Thursday evening after trying to disrupt the passage of the whaling ship Hval 9. The Coast Guard took over the ship on Thursday evening and sailed it to the port in Reykjavík yesterday. The ship will not be sailing for the…
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