Bandero owner has not responded to Icelandic maritime authority

The owner of the vessel Bandero has not responded to a request for documents needed for a follow-up inspection, mbl.is reports. The vessel is owned by an organisation associated with Paul Watson.

The Icelandic Transport Authority detained Bandero at the end of July. It then requested information from the vessel’s operator, saying the documents were necessary to carry out another inspection. The detention can be lifted once the inspection is completed.

The requested documents include an international tonnage certificate specifying the vessel’s dimensions, volume, gross tonnage and net tonnage, as well as nautical charts and confirmation that the vessel has been inspected and that its automatic identification system, or AIS, is operational.

AIS is tracking equipment that allows the coast guards of countries, among others, to monitor ships’ movements. It may not be switched off without special permission.

Despite this, Bandero’s AIS system has repeatedly been inactive off Iceland’s coast. As a result, the vessel was temporarily required to report its position regularly to the Icelandic Coast Guard.