Police deny Hvalur access to Bandero investigation files

Police have told whaling company Hvalur hf. that it is not a direct party to the investigation involving the boat Bandero, and will therefore not receive the case files, mbl.is reports.

Hvalur chief executive Kristján Loftsson told Morgunblaðið that the company had requested copies of police records, including interview transcripts, but had received no documents. He said the company had made the request as an injured party, along with the crew of the whale boat Hval 9.

In its request, Hvalur also sought information about the offences under investigation, as well as the boat’s ownership and registration certificate.

After the request was repeated, police replied on Thursday that the prosecution division had said Hvalur would not receive the documents for the time being because it was not a direct party to the case.

“We find it difficult to understand what is going on,” Loftsson said. He said the company had requested the investigation files since August 4 and found the police response unusual.

The files concern police interviews with the crew of Bandero, which is currently in Reykjavík harbour. Icelandic Coast Guard personnel and police special forces boarded the boat, took control of it and arrested the crew.

Some crew members have since left Iceland following removal orders from the Directorate of Immigration. According to the article, no charges had been issued against the crew, although Hvalur says they attempted to endanger the lives of the Hval 9 crew by trying to ram the whale boat at the end of last month. Loftsson said police had also taken statements from the Hval 9 crew.

Loftsson said his advisers had told him that the Bandero crew could still be charged if the police concluded that offences had been committed, even if the crew members had left the country.

Bandero remains moored while awaiting documents required by the Transport Authority before a seaworthiness certificate can be issued. Port charges are accumulating while the boat remains there.

Loftsson said that if the boat could not be brought into compliance and released, it would show that its operators lacked funds, despite claiming otherwise.