Icelandic Authorities Seize Anti-Whaling Ship and Detain Crew

LONDON (AP) — Icelandic coast guards, along with special forces, have captured a ship associated with Paul Watson, an anti-whaling activist, and detained its crew. Officials from Iceland, an Arctic island nation, reported the incident on Saturday.

The Icelandic Coast Guard received a call on Thursday evening from the whaling ship Hvalur 9, which feared its safety was compromised by the protest vessel Bandero. The Bandero reportedly ignored orders to exit Icelandic waters and later refused to stop its engines.

Around midnight on Thursday, coast guards and the police special forces known as the Viking Squad boarded the vessel and detained the crew. Notably, Paul Watson was not on board. The Captain Paul Watson Foundation confirmed the seizure, stating that the 21 crew members were detained on the ship without access to their phones.

The vessel reached Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, on Friday, where police took over the investigation, as noted by the coast guard agency. Icelandic national broadcaster RUV reported that authorities plan to deport the crew and impose a ban on their return to Iceland.

Iceland, along with Norway and Japan, remains one of the few countries engaging in commercial whaling. The nation has annual quotas for hunting fin and minke whales, primarily exporting the meat to Japan. However, since Japan left the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and resumed commercial whaling in 2019, demand for whale meat in Japan has declined. In Iceland, consuming whale meat has become less common and remains a contentious topic.

Canada-born Watson, 75, previously led the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, known for its confrontational approach against whaling ships. His actions have gained celebrity support and media attention, notably in the reality series “Whale Wars”. These tactics have also led to legal troubles and incarceration. Watson parted ways with Sea Shepherd in 2022 to establish his own foundation.

In 2024, Watson served five months in a Greenland prison following his arrest on a Japanese warrant, linked to an incident in 2010 involving a whaling ship obstruction. Upon his release in December 2024, Watson stated that he would avoid countries where Interpol might attempt arresting him again. In 2012, Interpol issued a “red notice” for Watson, removing him from the most-wanted list in 2025.

Watson’s uncompromising methods have caused divisions in the movement he initiated. Marine companies accuse his activists of risking vessels and lives. Earlier this year, the Bandero collided with a Norwegian-owned industrial krill trawler in Antarctica. The owner described it as a deliberate act, jeopardizing crew safety and potentially causing environmental harm.