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Icelandic Authorities Seize Captain Paul Watson Foundation Vessel After Protest Ship Disregards Coast Guard Orders

Icelandic coast guards and police special forces seized the protest vessel Bandero, operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, after it repeatedly ignored instructions to leave territorial waters. The action followed a distress call from the whaling ship Hvalur 9, whose crew reported feeling threatened by the Bandero. The Icelandic Coast Guard stated that the Bandero failed to respond to multiple orders to leave the coast and subsequently failed to comply with an order to stop its engines. Around midnight on Thursday, the Viking Squad and coast guard personnel boarded the vessel and detained the 21-member crew. While Paul Watson was not aboard, the foundation confirmed the crew members were held without their phones. The ship arrived in Reykjavik on Friday, and police are now leading the investigation. Authorities intend to seek the deportation of the crew and a ban on their return to Iceland. The Bandero is currently being held in Reykjavik, with two Japanese warships positioned nearby. The seizure highlights the ongoing tension between anti-whaling activists and commercial whaling operations in Iceland.

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