Iceland Seizes Watson Foundation Anti-Whaling Vessel, the Bandero

Icelandic authorities seized the 65-meter anti-whaling ship Bandero, operated by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation (CPWF), following an offshore confrontation with a commercial Icelandic whaler and detained the crew without their phones.

On July 30, 2026, the crew of the commercial whaling vessel Hvalur 9 alerted the Icelandic Coast Guard, reporting that they felt unsafe due to the aggressive tactics of the activist ship Bandero. Icelandic authorities subsequently accused the anti-whaling activists of attempting to disable Hvalur 9 by throwing nets, metal scraps, and machine parts directly into its propeller. When the Bandero allegedly ignored repeated radio warnings from the coast guard and commands from a hovering helicopter to shut down its engines and clear out of Icelandic territorial waters, law enforcement intervened. Around midnight, elite Icelandic police special forces from the Viking Squad, along with coast guard personnel, forcibly boarded the vessel. Following the tactical boarding, the Bandero was officially seized and escorted into Reykjavík’s Sundahöfn harbor on the morning of July 31.

All 21 crew members aboard the Bandero remain confined to the vessel in Reykjavík while an ongoing investigation takes place. Although local police informed the crew that they have not been placed under formal arrest, they are forbidden from stepping off the ship for a period of up to four weeks. Every crew member is currently regarded as a suspect in a maritime reckless endangerment probe, though formal charges have so far only been filed against the ship’s captain, Beck Straussner. Additionally, Icelandic officials are seeking authorization from the Directorate of Immigration to expel the crew members, a move that could trigger Schengen area re-entry bans of up to two years for non-EU citizens. Notably, foundation founder Paul Watson was absent from the ship throughout the entire operation.

The Bandero entered Icelandic waters as part of “Operation 86,” a initiative launched by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation to monitor, block, and ultimately shut down Hvalur hf, the sole remaining commercial whaling firm in the nation. The operation’s title commemorates four decades since 1986, when activists linked to Watson gained notoriety by scuttling half of the country’s whaling fleet inside Reykjavík’s port. According to foundation representatives, their intervention successfully curbed the number of fin whales harvested over the course of the season. However, the organization has challenged the lawfulness of the raid, asserting that the raid took place in international waters and that crew members were initially prevented from contacting legal counsel.

The Scuba News will continue to follow this developing story and provide updates as further details emerge.