Iceland seizes Paul Watson Foundation’s anti-whaling ship and detains its crew
Authorities say the 21 crew members were detained after the protest vessel ignored orders and approached a whaling ship in Icelandic waters.
- Around midnight on Thursday, the Icelandic Coast Guard and Viking Squad special forces seized the Bandero, a protest vessel operated by the Paul Watson Foundation, detaining its 21 crew members after it ignored orders to stop in Icelandic waters.
- Authorities intervened after the crew of the whaling ship Hvalur 9 requested assistance on Thursday evening, reporting they felt threatened by the protest vessel. The Coast Guard subsequently moved to board the Bandero after it failed to comply with instructions to leave territorial waters.
- Earlier that day, the Paul Watson Foundation claimed the Bandero collided with Hvalur 9, forcing the whaler to abandon its hunt. However, the Coast Guard verified the vessel approached the whaler but did not confirm the foundation's collision allegation.
- After arriving in Reykjavik on Friday, the vessel came under police investigation. Icelandic national broadcaster RUV reported authorities are seeking deportation of the 21 crew members and an entry ban to Iceland.
- Iceland remains one of the few nations still practicing commercial whaling, though the hunt is increasingly contentious locally. Whale meat is now rarely eaten within the Arctic island nation as demand has dwindled significantly.
113 Articles
113 Articles
After two years of rest, Finn whales are being hunted again in Iceland. Opponents tried to stop the whalers. Coast Guard stormed the ship of the activists. After days of fixing, they are now expelled. Jana Sinram.
Iceland has expelled 21 whaling opponents of the country.
Iceland is going to deport 21 anti-whaling activists, police report. Their ship was seized last week after an attempt to stop a whaling vessel.
(Paris=Yonhap News) Correspondent Song Jin-won = Icelandic police announced on the 5th that they have issued deportation orders to 21 activists arrested for interfering with whaling activities at sea...
For attempting to obstruct a whaler, the crew of the "Bandero", a ship of the foundation of the activist, was arrested and was notified of "a deportation decision with a ban on return".
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