Illegal passengers on board whaling ship?
Passengers on a whale-watching trip. Photo: Bæjarins besta
An Icelandic whaling vessel was stopped on two separate occasions by the coast guard authorities on suspicion of carrying passengers without the necessary permit.
Head of Operations at the Icelandic Coast Guard, Ásgrímur L. Ásgrímsson, has confirmed that extra passengers – over and above the registered crew members – had been on board, but could not confirm whether this was a case of illegal conduct.
In the first instance, the ship – reportedly hunting for minke whales – was boarded by ICG operatives from a patrol ship, and in the second, by crew members of an ICG helicopter.
It is officially possible to take passengers on whale-hunting vessels, but in such cases the necessary insurance needs to have been arranged.
Ásgrímsson has not commented on whether the passengers were Icelandic or from overseas. The case is being investigated.
