Akranes port holds Banderos over Hvalur’s ISK 10m claim

Morgunblaðið reports that Hvalur hf. is seeking nearly ISK 10 million plus interest and late-payment interest from the owner of the ship Banderos over losses the company says were caused by the vessel’s actions in whaling grounds off Iceland.

The District Commissioner of West Iceland approved an application to secure the ship on Thursday, preventing it from leaving before Hvalur can seek compensation. Banderos is currently moored at the port of Akranes.

According to the application, Hvalur’s ships have repeatedly had to change their routes to avoid Banderos, resulting in increased fuel costs. The claimed amount is said to reflect those costs and other losses.

The application describes an incident on July 30 in which Banderos allegedly attempted to stop Hval 9. The Icelandic Coast Guard’s operations centre received a report that the ship had entered Iceland’s 12-mile territorial waters and was heading towards Hval 9.

The crew of Hval 9 told the Coast Guard that the vessel had been threatened. The application says Banderos attempted to throw a net into Hval 9’s propeller, which could have left the ship uncontrollable at sea and endangered the vessel and its crew. It also allegedly sailed a rubber boat alongside the ship.

Hval 9 had to withdraw because of the actions, causing operational losses including additional fuel costs. Hval 8 and Hval 9 had also repeatedly changed their routes earlier in the whaling season because of Banderos’s planned actions, according to the application.

The document says a special operations team from the Icelandic Coast Guard and the National Police Commissioner’s tactical unit took control of Banderos after its crew failed to follow repeated Coast Guard orders. The captain was arrested.

Hvalur says the July 30 incident was not the only occasion on which its ships had to change course. The application says statements by representatives of Paul Watson organisations created a genuine risk, leaving the crews no choice but to take significantly longer routes. Hvalur claims this caused substantial and unexpected fuel costs and direct financial losses linked to Banderos’s movements and actions, both on July 30 and earlier in the season.

Banderos’s owner is a company registered in Delaware in the United States, while the ship is registered in Panama. The vessel was built in 2000 and is believed to be worth about USD 600,000, equivalent to approximately ISK 73 million, although its value depends on its condition.