REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND — The crew aboard the Bandero, a vessel operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation, remains detained onboard in Iceland following its seizure by authorities.
Only the Captain has been formally charged. The remaining crew members continue to be confined to the vessel, with their personal property reportedly seized. After three days, no warrant has been presented.
« The arrest and unlawful detention only serves our cause of exposing the illegal whaling operations of Kristian Loftsson, » says foundation leader Captain Paul Watson.
The Chase
The Bandero was intercepted after approaching Hvalur 9, one of Iceland’s last active whaling vessels operated by Hvalur hf, owned by Kristján Loftsson.
The ship had been at sea for over a month monitoring whaling activity.
According to the foundation, the Icelandic Coast Guard repeatedly intervened in monitoring efforts and required the Bandero to report its position hourly while maintaining constant AIS transmission. Loftsson public comments indicate that this information was relayed to his whaling vessels, allowing them to evade detection.
The Encounter
On Thursday, the Bandero entered Iceland’s 12-nautical-mile zone after identifying Hvalur 9 departing harbor. As the Bandero approached, the whaling vessel returned to port without hunting.
The Coast Guard deployed a helicopter and pursued the Bandero with the patrol vessel Freya. Just before reaching international waters, armed special forces boarded the vessel from small boats, held the crew at gunpoint, and took control of the ship, escorting it to Reykjavík, where the crew remains confined.
2026 Whaling Season
The foundation reports that Hvalur hf has killed 35 whales during the 2026 season to date, fewer than in previous years.
According to the foundation and Loftsson, the reduction is in part due to the presence of the Bandero, as well as increased regulatory scrutiny since 2023, after documentation of violations was submitted to Iceland’s Food and Veterinary Authority (MAST), by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK.
Reported Violations
In the 2026 hunting season, MAST released a report about the slaughter of seven whales killed by Hvalur 8. The report states that four of the seven whales did not die immediately. Two took over 30 minutes to die. Three out of the seven whales were harpooned multiple times.
For Hvalur 9, six out of 14 whales were harpooned multiple times. Seven did not die instantly, and three took over 30 minutes to die.
These are all clear violations of permitted conditions for the 2026 hunt.
Growing Public Scrutiny
On July 2, 2026, footage emerged showing a Hvalur hf employee engaging in inappropriate behavior with a dead whale. The video prompted international condemnation and increased scrutiny of Iceland’s whaling practices.
For media inquiries with Captain Paul Watson or detained crew members aboard the Bandero, please contact:
