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Deported Canadian Activist Calls Anti-Whaling Mission a Success Despite Ship Capture
About 21 crew members were detained for days after Icelandic security boarded the Bandero, and activists said the mission drew international attention to whaling.
- On August 18, 2026, Icelandic authorities deported 21 crew members of the anti-whaling vessel Bandero, which was boarded on July 30 after the whaling ship Hvalur 9 requested assistance citing safety threats.
- Paul Watson, founder of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, stated the mission aimed to interrupt Iceland's commercial whaling, advocating for "aggressive nonviolence" to focus international attention on operations he terms illegal.
- Saskatchewan activist Shannon Mann, a deckhand on the Bandero, described the boarding as a "full SWAT attack" involving armed officers; crew members faced days of uncertainty with authorities seizing phones and limiting legal communication.
- Prohibited from returning to Iceland and many European nations, the crew intends to contest the travel ban; two additional members depart Wednesday, leaving only the chief engineer on board from the original crew.
- Iceland remains one of the few nations, alongside Norway and Japan, still practicing commercial whaling, though the hunt is increasingly contentious within Iceland where whale meat consumption has declined.
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18 Articles
Coverage Details
Total News Sources18
Leaning Left11Leaning Right0Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution61% Left
Bias Distribution
- 61% of the sources lean Left
61% Left
L 61%
C 39%
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