Icelandic forces board anti-whaling vessel Bandero and hold its crew

Icelandic authorities intercepted the anti-whaling ship Bandero after the crew of the Icelandic whaler Hvalur 9 reported a safety threat on Thursday evening. Despite repeated commands to exit Icelandic waters and to shut down its engines, the protest vessel continued its course, prompting the coast guard and the police’s Viking Squad to board the ship just after midnight. All 21 activists on board were detained, though Paul Watson himself was not present.

The Captain Paul Watson Foundation acknowledged the takeover and said the crew were being held without mobile devices. Bandero arrived in Reykjavik the following day, where police have taken charge of the case and intend to deport the activists and bar them from future entry. Iceland remains one of the few countries still practicing commercial whaling, a policy that is increasingly contested domestically despite most whale meat being exported to Japan.