Iceland seizes Paul Watson Foundation’s anti-whaling ship and detains its crew

Iceland seizes Paul Watson Foundation’s anti-whaling ship and detains its crew 1 of 2 | This July 30, 2026 photo made available by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation shows an Icelandic Coast Guard vessel taken from the protest vessel Bandero.( Captain Paul Watson Foundation via AP) 2 of 2 | Paul Watson poses after an interview after Interpol took the anti-whaling campaigner off its most-wanted list, Wednesday, July 23, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla, File) 1 of 2 | This July 30, 2026 photo made available by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation shows an Icelandic Coast Guard vessel taken from the protest vessel Bandero.( Captain Paul Watson Foundation via AP) 1 of 2 This July 30, 2026 photo made available by the Captain Paul Watson Foundation shows an Icelandic Coast Guard vessel taken from the protest vessel Bandero.( Captain Paul Watson Foundation via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share 2 of 2 | Paul Watson poses after an interview after Interpol took the anti-whaling campaigner off its most-wanted list, Wednesday, July 23, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla, File) 2 of 2 Paul Watson poses after an interview after Interpol took the anti-whaling campaigner off its most-wanted list, Wednesday, July 23, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] LONDON (AP) — Icelandic coast guards and special forces seized a ship operated by a group founded by anti-whaling activist Paul Watson and detained its crew, officials in the Arctic island nation said Saturday.The Icelandic Coast Guard said the crew of whaling ship Hvalur 9 requested assistance on Thursday evening because they believed their safety was under threat from the protest vessel Bandero. It said the Bandero ignored coast guards’ instructions to leave Icelandic waters, and later an order to stop its engines.Coast guards and the police special forces Viking Squad boarded the vessel around midnight on Thursday and detained its crew. Watson was not aboard. The Captain Paul Watson Foundation confirmed in a statement that the vessel had been seized. It said the 21 crew members were being detained aboard the ship without their phones. The ship arrived Friday in Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital, and police have taken over the investigation, the coast guard agency said. Icelandic national broadcaster RUV reported that police will seek to deport the crew and ban them from returning to Iceland.Along with Norway and Japan, Iceland is one of the only countries still practicing commercial whaling.