HVALUR 9
Die letzten Häfen
Die letzten Wegpunkte
Die neuesten Nachrichten
Whaling ship in standoff with Bandero
The Icelandic Coast Guard has taken control of the 'Bandero' operated by the Paul Watson Foundation, after its captain allegedly ignored repeated orders to leave Icelandic waters and stop the vessel on July 30; 2026. The captain was arrested shortly before midnight during a joint operation involving the Coast Guard and Iceland’s National Commissioner of Police’s special forces. The Bandero is being escorted to Reykjavík Harbour. The 'Bandero' had entered Iceland’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters despite Coast Guard orders to leave. The vessel failed to comply with repeated instructions before special forces boarded and arrested the captain. The operation followed reports that the 'Bandero' had approached and attempted to interfere with the whaling vessel 'Hvalur 9'. The crew of the 'Hvalur 9' had requested assistance on the evening, saying they believed their safety was under threat. Earlier in the day, the Paul Watson Foundation claimed the 'Bandero' had collided with the 'Hvalur 9', forcing the whaling vessel to abandon its hunt and return to port. The Coast Guard confirmed that the 'Bandero' had approached the 'Hvalur 9' and attempted to disrupt its passage, but did not confirm the foundation’s account of a collision. The Coast Guard's operations centre received a report at around 6 p.m. that the 'Bandero' had crossed into Iceland’s territorial waters and was heading towards the 'Hvalur 9'. Watch officers instructed the vessel to leave Icelandic waters, but the orders were not followed. A Coast Guard helicopter already on patrol was dispatched to the scene and repeated the instructions without success. The patrol vessel 'Freyja' was then sent to intercept the 'Bandero', and its captain was ordered to stop the ship’s engines. According to the Coast Guard, those instructions were also ignored. Special police officers were flown by helicopter to the 'Freyja', while the Coast Guard’s special operations unit approached the 'Bandero' in speedboats. The teams boarded the vessel shortly before midnight, arrested the captain and assumed control of the ship. The 'Bandero' was taken to the Sundahöfn harbour in Reykjavík later the night. The operation was carried out in close cooperation with the Office of the National Commissioner of Police and that Iceland’s Ministry of Justice was kept informed.
Activists forced to give up after police refused supplies in suspected violation of human rights
The two activists who climbed into the mastheads of the whaling ships 'Hvalur 8' (IMO: 5157341) and 'Hvalur 9' on Sep 4 and stayed there overnight, have given up their peaceful protest after 33 hours, One of the two women had been without water, food and a mobile phone since the morning of Sep 4, after a police officer took her backpack away. Any attempt from land to supply her with water or food was stopped by law enforcement. An ambulance wanted to attend in the morning, but that too had to leave the premises, as before with the argument that if either woman needed medical help. For the deputy chief of the capital city police, Ásgeir Þór Ásgeirsson, the two women had not shown civil disobedience, but committed trespassing. The two women were taken away separately in two police vehicles. They were interrogated and then released. A third woman, who was arrested in the afternoon for trying to walk under the cordon to the ship, complained that the police used unnecessary physical force and bruised her. The wWhale protection organization Hvalavinir spokeswoman Valgerður Arnadóttir complained that the failure to provide assistance to the two protesters was a clear violation of human rights. Margrét Steinarsdóttir, the executive director of the Office of Human Rights,stated that forcibly confiscating the provisions could constitute a violation of human rights. It must also be checked whether the police acted according to the principle of proportionality. In her view, the police action took place in a legal gray area and should therefore be investigated. Hvalur managing director Kristján Loftsson announced that the two women would be charged with trespassing. The ships were now on their way to Hvalfjörður to load equipment for the much critizised whale hunt. Report with photo: https://www.icelandreview.com/de/natur-und-reisen-de/walfangaktivistinnen-im-mastkorb-gaben-nach-33-stunden-protest-auf/
Activists tied themselves to masts of whalers
Police and firefighters were on alert at Reykjavík harbour in the morning of Sep 4, 2023, for two activists who had fastened themselves to the masts of the 'Hvalur 8' (IMO: 5157341) and 'Hvalur 9' overnight and were still there in protest of the whaling of Hvalur hf. One of them, Anahita Babaei, stated: “I am part of the growing group of people here in Iceland that is against whaling. We are doing what we can to stop these ships from leaving the harbor and kill up to 209 fin whales. Right now I am in the mast of Hvalur 9 where I will be staying for as long as I can to stop the ships from going out to sea. The reason why I am doing this is not to cause trouble for anyone directly apart from the owners of Hvalur hf. I understand though that my actions will affect other groups of people indirectly, and to them I would like to apologize in advance. The actions of the owners of Hvalur hf. affect many people and so action against them will also do the same. If a law is unjust, one is not only right to disobey it, one is obliged to do so.”
News schreiben