A Little Fun with Freyr Thorvaldsson and the Reykjavik Grapevine.

A Little Fun with Freyr Thorvaldsson and the Reykjavik Grapevine.

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” - Oscar Wilde

I love these kind of articles that purport to attack me yet serve to further illustrate the legitimacy of our cause.

According to the title, I am making the Icelanders want to whale harder.

Interesting. You’re either for killing whales or you are not. Anyone who is motivated to kill a whale because they don’t like me is not exactly someone who cares about protecting whales in the first place.

Paul Watson Makes Icelanders Want To Whale Harder

Kristján Loftsson may be a cruel millionaire whaler, but he’s our cruel millionaire whaler

Aug 4, 2026

Opinion

Words by

Freyr Thorvaldsson

Photo by Micah Garen

Freyr Thorvaldsson: Shortly before midnight on July 31, 2026, the anti-whaling ship Bandero was boarded by the Icelandic coast guard and police. The vessel had been in Icelandic waters on and off for a little over a month shadowing whaling ships. Their goal: to frustrate whaling through direct action. On July 31, they repeatedly threw netting into the propeller of one of the whalers, which risked leaving it without power and at the mercy of the North Atlantic. The Icelandic Coastguard ordered the Bandero to halt, which it did not. Despite this, the Coast Guard – in a dangerous maneuver that would have been unnecessary had the Bandero stopped – caught up with and boarded the vessel, arresting the crew. The ship was brought to Reykjavík harbour.

Paul Watson (who was not on board) said he was pleased about the arrests. And he would be. As a former star of Whale Wars, he has a keen nose for a good story, and he’s aware of the fund and awareness-raising potential of arrests and judicial martyrdoms. He himself tried his best to get arrested and put on trial by Icelandic authorities after he and other activists sank two whalers at anchor in Reykjavík harbour in 1986 – going as far as to fly back to Iceland to be arrested in 1988. The Icelandic authorities sent him home instead.

Captain Paul Watson: Was there netting fouling to prop of the Havulur 9 or is that simply an unsubstantiated accusation? The Coast Guard have not produced any evidence. Repeatedly they say? Really was this recorded or do we take the word of the whalers? It does not matter because there is no evidence to prove that such an action took place. Boarding a moving vessel was not dangerous if you’r trained and the vessel cooperates. We’ve done it many times with Japanese ships that did not cooperate. The Bandero did not resist the boarding. I presume the boarding party was well trained. In the past I have successfully resisted boarding by the Soviet, Norwegian, Danish and Faroese Navy. None of my well used anti-boarding tactics were implemented by the crew of the Bandero during this incident The crew were not arrested, just the captain, and unlawfully detained. An Icelandic judge ruled on this yesterday and the order was given to not confine the crew to the Bandero.

Yes it is correct that I am pleased by the arrests. It has been a successful strategy for more than five decades and yet there has not been one felony conviction as a result. The question is, why did the Icelandic authorities not charge me for the sinking of the two whaling ships in 1986? No charges, no trial, no conviction means no crime. I was in fact expelled from Iceland without a legal judgement or justification. Kristján Loftsson did not even initiate a civil suit. Why? To avoid the controversy of Iceland ignoring the International Whaling Commission’s Global Moratorium on Commercial whaling. In 1988, I wanted to be charged. I wanted a trial and this was denied. Maybe this time we will get a trial and an opportunity to expose the corruption supporting this whale killing operation.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: To me and other Icelanders, this Bandero drama has been like watching two of the worst people you know fight.

Captain Paul Watson: I actually don’t mind being regarded by Icelanders as one of the two worst people in the country. I’m just happy Kristján is one of them and recognized for the despicable mass murdering bastard that he is. I’m not going to lose any sleep because anyone in Iceland does not like me. I’ve never thought of it as a popularity contest.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: Since the seizure of Bandero, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation has busily churned out seizure-related content: supposedly the seizure reveals the deep complicity of the Icelandic state in Kristján Loftson’s whaling operation. Online, his supporters have asked how much the Bandero seizure cost the Icelandic state, the point being that whaling may cost Iceland more than it earns. Other activists have made the same point in a different way, stating simply that they (and their credit cards) won’t set foot in Iceland until whaling ends. While this might have stung fifteen years ago, before tourism transformed parts of Reykjavík into a hotel complex, it is now met with a collective shrug.

Captain Paul Watson: Oh there is indeed complicity between what Loftsson wants and what many politicians have given him and the favor the authorities’ have bestowed, like not charging him with pollution despite the evidence and not charging him under the Animal Welfare Act for using 4 harpoons and an hour’s time to kill one whale. It was an agonizing slow death and the authorities simply ignored it. Oh and by the way, I do enjoy “churning” out content.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: To me and other Icelanders, this Bandero drama has been like watching two of the worst people you know fight. In one corner we have an ageing humourless zealot and ex-reality TV star, remotely steering his gang of young hippies from his leafy backyard. In the other corner we have a rich boomer who spends his time killing one of the most majestic animals on planet earth. Both men have been making a living from whaling for decades.

Captain Paul Watson: Oh that hurt LOL, an ‘aging humorless zealot” and an ex-reality TV star? Ok, aging I suppose, humorless, Obviously Freyr Thorvaldsson does not know me. If I did not have a sense of humor I would not have been able to keep in this fight for the last fifty years. Nor does he know my crew to dismiss them as young hippies as if being a peace loving hippy is something bad and certainly a contradiction of his view that we are pirates. I mean how many pirate hippies has anyone ever heard of? “Leafy back yard?” Really I live on a boat on a river with the Louvre in the background. As for his description of the rich whale murdering boomer, I most certainly agree with his assessment. As for making a living from whaling. I’ve never made a dime from the killing of whales. I make a living by writing books and articles, narrating films, lectures and teaching about a long list of issues; whaling, sealing, illegal fishing, climate change, opposing the killing of wolves and elephants, dolphins and manatees. It’s not just whales Freyr. In fact if you are paid for writing this article, by your logic you’re making a living from whaling.

Freyr Thorvaldsson; Yet Paul Watson somehow manages to be even less sympathetic than Kristján and his dick-swinging whalers. It’s something about the shrill tone: the Captain Paul Watson Foundation Facebook page described the officials who boarded the Bandero as being dressed like “American ICE agents”. Another post said that “The Bandero is being held captive by two criminal whaling countries,” Iceland being one, apparently, with Japan as the second, since two Japanese navy vessels happened to be docked next to the seized Bandero in Reykjavík Harbour and thus they “held it captive” with their mere proximity. In a video filmed shortly after the boarding, Paul Watson described it as an “international incident”, stressing that whaling is “illegal” under treaties which he has to know Iceland is not beholden to.

Captain Paul Watson: Less sympathetic that Kristján? Perhaps in Iceland, certainly not anyplace else on the planet. The Coast Guard with their masks, guns and body armor did indeed look like U.S. Ice Agents. Not actually my opinion, more like a general consensus. This confrontation has become an international incident. Consulates and international media are involved. This of course was the idea. Iceland was a signatory to the IWC when the Moratorium on commercial whaling was passed. You don’t get to cop out of an organization you’re a signatory to just because one greedy little man decides he wants to continue his killing spree.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: So while this pensioners’ grudge match has garnered Watson plenty of support and money from abroad, you hardly hear a good word spoken about him in Iceland. People who three months ago were undecided about whaling are now close to manning the harpoons themselves, if only to piss off Paul Watson and his humourless crew.

Captain Paul Watson: I don’t get a pension and I doubt Kristján does either. You may hardly hear a good word about me in Iceland but how would you know Freyr? You live in London. I have received many good words from Icelanders because unlike supporters of Loftsson, there are many decent, compassionate people in Iceland who oppose whaling and as long as they oppose whaling I don’t really care if they like me or not. I have no plans for dinner parties with anyone in Reykjavik.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: In some ways this resembles an internal tribal or family matter. Sure, we can say that Kristján Loftsson is a pest and should cease his whale killing hobby immediately, but when a Canadian egomaniac who has only been to Iceland on a sabotage mission makes the point, it feels a little rude. When he not only makes his points but starts endangering sailors’ lives for a PR stunt, it makes one want to defend old man Kristján. Kristján Loftsson may be a cruel millionaire whaler, but he’s our cruel millionaire whaler, God damn it.

Captain Paul Watson: You got that right Freyre, he is your cruel millionaire whaler and you’ve done little to stop him. Because of that, you have us. You are wrong about my only ever being in Iceland on a sabotage mission. I travelled to Iceland my first time in 1970 as a journalist to report on the Hekla eruption. Again in 1985 and the last time was 1988. Let me tell you what rude is: firing an numerous explosive harpoons into a self aware, highly intelligent sentient being and watching it thrash about on the surface in horrific agony as the hot blood flows steaming into the cold sea. That Freyr, is the very definition of fucking rudeness. No lives were endangered and I’ve never caused a single injury to anyone in my entire history spanning more than half a century.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: Oblivious to this effect, Watson continues his tireless campaign to shore up Icelandic whaling. Recently he said that if Iceland joined the EU it would need to stop whaling, encouraging Icelanders to vote Yes in the coming national referendum. This endorsement doubtless earned the No camp a handful of votes.

Captain Paul Watson: Well that’s one way of misrepresenting my activities, not that I care and the fact is that it is in the interest of Iceland to join the European Union and when it does, Loftsson will have to quit his sadistic hobby. I highly doubt that anything that I say will sway that vote one way or another. I don’t think a handful of votes will make a difference.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: And it matters what Icelanders think, for in the end, whaling is a decision that rests with the Icelandic parliament, and in turn the Icelandic public, not with Paul Watson’s social media following. According to a July 2026 poll, 41 percent of Icelanders are opposed to fin-whale hunting. Since 2023, Icelandic pressure group Hvalavinir has patiently advanced the arguments of a total whaling ban. They’ve done the detailed toil of report reading, marching, pressuring regulators, and talking to parliamentarians. The case they lay out against whaling is simple and free of Watson’s hysterics: whales are sacred, intelligent animals that are impossible to kill humanely with the methods we have; hunting them for profit is profane. If Iceland ever bans whaling, it’ll be because of organisations like Hvalavinir, not due to the direct action of Paul Watson’s publicity-hungry crew.

Captain Paul Watson: Ending whaling is a decision for humanity. Icelanders do not own the whalers they butcher. All power to Hvalavinir. They have my total support as do any and all organizations that oppose the evil of cetacide. If Iceland bans whaling and credit is given to Hvalavinir, That would be quite appropriate. But I must point out that without my approach of aggressive non-violence, whales would still be killed in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary where we saved the lives of 6,500 whales. And whatever you might think of the action, sinking half of Loftsson’s insidious fleet also saved quite a few whales.

Thanks for the enjoyable debate Freyr. Always fun to exchange pleasantries.

You can support Hvalavinir here: hvalavinir.is/styrkja. Freyr Thorvaldsson is a writer living in London. He has a newsletter where he posts articles and short stories, find it at freyr.substack.com.

https://grapevine.is/mag/opinion/2026/08/04/paul-watson-makes-icelanders-want-to-whale-harder/

A Little Fun with Freyr Thorvaldsson and the Reykjavik Grapevine.

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” - Oscar Wilde

I love these kind of articles that purport to attack me yet serve to further illustrate the legitimacy of our cause.

According to the title, I am making the Icelanders want to whale harder.

Interesting. You’re either for killing whales or you are not. Anyone who is motivated to kill a whale because they don’t like me is not exactly someone who cares about protecting whales in the first place.

Paul Watson Makes Icelanders Want To Whale Harder

Kristján Loftsson may be a cruel millionaire whaler, but he’s our cruel millionaire whaler

Aug 4, 2026

/

OPINION

Words by

Freyr Thorvaldsson

Photo by Micah Garen

Freyr Thorvaldsson: Shortly before midnight on July 31, 2026, the anti-whaling ship Bandero was boarded by the Icelandic coast guard and police. The vessel had been in Icelandic waters on and off for a little over a month shadowing whaling ships. Their goal: to frustrate whaling through direct action. On July 31, they repeatedly threw netting into the propeller of one of the whalers, which risked leaving it without power and at the mercy of the North Atlantic. The Icelandic Coastguard ordered the Bandero to halt, which it did not. Despite this, the Coast Guard – in a dangerous maneuver that would have been unnecessary had the Bandero stopped – caught up with and boarded the vessel, arresting the crew. The ship was brought to Reykjavík harbour.

Paul Watson (who was not on board) said he was pleased about the arrests. And he would be. As a former star of Whale Wars, he has a keen nose for a good story, and he’s aware of the fund and awareness-raising potential of arrests and judicial martyrdoms. He himself tried his best to get arrested and put on trial by Icelandic authorities after he and other activists sank two whalers at anchor in Reykjavík harbour in 1986 – going as far as to fly back to Iceland to be arrested in 1988. The Icelandic authorities sent him home instead.

Captain Paul Watson: Was there netting fouling to prop of the Havulur 9 or is that simply an unsubstantiated accusation? The Coast Guard have not produced any evidence. Repeatedly they say? Really was this recorded or do we take the word of the whalers? It does not matter because there is no evidence to prove that such an action took place. Boarding a moving vessel was not dangerous if you’r trained and the vessel cooperates. We’ve done it many times with Japanese ships that did not cooperate. The Bandero did not resist the boarding. I presume the boarding party was well trained. In the past I have successfully resisted boarding by the Soviet, Norwegian, Danish and Faroese Navy. None of my well used anti-boarding tactics were implemented by the crew of the Bandero during this incident The crew were not arrested, just the captain, and unlawfully detained. An Icelandic judge ruled on this yesterday and the order was given to not confine the crew to the Bandero.

Yes it is correct that I am pleased by the arrests. It has been a successful strategy for more than five decades and yet there has not been one felony conviction as a result. The question is, why did the Icelandic authorities not charge me for the sinking of the two whaling ships in 1986? No charges, no trial, no conviction means no crime. I was in fact expelled from Iceland without a legal judgement or justification. Kristján Loftsson did not even initiate a civil suit. Why? To avoid the controversy of Iceland ignoring the International Whaling Commission’s Global Moratorium on Commercial whaling. In 1988, I wanted to be charged. I wanted a trial and this was denied. Maybe this time we will get a trial and an opportunity to expose the corruption supporting this whale killing operation.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: To me and other Icelanders, this Bandero drama has been like watching two of the worst people you know fight.

Captain Paul Watson: I actually don’t mind being regarded by Icelanders as one of the two worst people in the country. I’m just happy Kristján is one of them and recognized for the despicable mass murdering bastard that he is. I’m not going to lose any sleep because anyone in Iceland does not like me. I’ve never thought of it as a popularity contest.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: Since the seizure of Bandero, the Captain Paul Watson Foundation has busily churned out seizure-related content: supposedly the seizure reveals the deep complicity of the Icelandic state in Kristján Loftson’s whaling operation. Online, his supporters have asked how much the Bandero seizure cost the Icelandic state, the point being that whaling may cost Iceland more than it earns. Other activists have made the same point in a different way, stating simply that they (and their credit cards) won’t set foot in Iceland until whaling ends. While this might have stung fifteen years ago, before tourism transformed parts of Reykjavík into a hotel complex, it is now met with a collective shrug.

Captain Paul Watson: Oh there is indeed complicity between what Loftsson wants and what many politicians have given him and the favor the authorities’ have bestowed, like not charging him with pollution despite the evidence and not charging him under the Animal Welfare Act for using 4 harpoons and an hour’s time to kill one whale. It was an agonizing slow death and the authorities simply ignored it. Oh and by the way, I do enjoy “churning” out content.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: To me and other Icelanders, this Bandero drama has been like watching two of the worst people you know fight. In one corner we have an ageing humourless zealot and ex-reality TV star, remotely steering his gang of young hippies from his leafy backyard. In the other corner we have a rich boomer who spends his time killing one of the most majestic animals on planet earth. Both men have been making a living from whaling for decades.

Captain Paul Watson: Oh that hurt LOL, an ‘aging humorless zealot” and an ex-reality TV star? Ok, aging I suppose, humorless, Obviously Freyr Thorvaldsson does not know me. If I did not have a sense of humor I would not have been able to keep in this fight for the last fifty years. Nor does he know my crew to dismiss them as young hippies as if being a peace loving hippy is something bad and certainly a contradiction of his view that we are pirates. I mean how many pirate hippies has anyone ever heard of? “Leafy back yard?” Really I live on a boat on a river with the Louvre in the background. As for his description of the rich whale murdering boomer, I most certainly agree with his assessment. As for making a living from whaling. I’ve never made a dime from the killing of whales. I make a living by writing books and articles, narrating films, lectures and teaching about a long list of issues; whaling, sealing, illegal fishing, climate change, opposing the killing of wolves and elephants, dolphins and manatees. It’s not just whales Freyr. In fact if you are paid for writing this article, by your logic you’re making a living from whaling.

Freyr Thorvaldsson; Yet Paul Watson somehow manages to be even less sympathetic than Kristján and his dick-swinging whalers. It’s something about the shrill tone: the Captain Paul Watson Foundation Facebook page described the officials who boarded the Bandero as being dressed like “American ICE agents”. Another post said that “The Bandero is being held captive by two criminal whaling countries,” Iceland being one, apparently, with Japan as the second, since two Japanese navy vessels happened to be docked next to the seized Bandero in Reykjavík Harbour and thus they “held it captive” with their mere proximity. In a video filmed shortly after the boarding, Paul Watson described it as an “international incident”, stressing that whaling is “illegal” under treaties which he has to know Iceland is not beholden to.

Captain Paul Watson: Less sympathetic that Kristján? Perhaps in Iceland, certainly not anyplace else on the planet. The Coast Guard with their masks, guns and body armor did indeed look like U.S. Ice Agents. Not actually my opinion, more like a general consensus. This confrontation has become an international incident. Consulates and international media are involved. This of course was the idea. Iceland was a signatory to the IWC when the Moratorium on commercial whaling was passed. You don’t get to cop out of an organization you’re a signatory to just because one greedy little man decides he wants to continue his killing spree.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: So while this pensioners’ grudge match has garnered Watson plenty of support and money from abroad, you hardly hear a good word spoken about him in Iceland. People who three months ago were undecided about whaling are now close to manning the harpoons themselves, if only to piss off Paul Watson and his humourless crew.

Captain Paul Watson: I don’t get a pension and I doubt Kristján does either. You may hardly hear a good word about me in Iceland but how would you know Freyr? You live in London. I have received many good words from Icelanders because unlike supporters of Loftsson, there are many decent, compassionate people in Iceland who oppose whaling and as long as they oppose whaling I don’t really care if they like me or not. I have no plans for dinner parties with anyone in Reykjavik.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: In some ways this resembles an internal tribal or family matter. Sure, we can say that Kristján Loftsson is a pest and should cease his whale killing hobby immediately, but when a Canadian egomaniac who has only been to Iceland on a sabotage mission makes the point, it feels a little rude. When he not only makes his points but starts endangering sailors’ lives for a PR stunt, it makes one want to defend old man Kristján. Kristján Loftsson may be a cruel millionaire whaler, but he’s our cruel millionaire whaler, God damn it.

Captain Paul Watson: You got that right Freyre, he is your cruel millionaire whaler and you’ve done little to stop him. Because of that, you have us. You are wrong about my only ever being in Iceland on a sabotage mission. I travelled to Iceland my first time in 1970 as a journalist to report on the Hekla eruption. Again in 1985 and the last time was 1988. Let me tell you what rude is: firing an numerous explosive harpoons into a self aware, highly intelligent sentient being and watching it thrash about on the surface in horrific agony as the hot blood flows steaming into the cold sea. That Freyr, is the very definition of fucking rudeness. No lives were endangered and I’ve never caused a single injury to anyone in my entire history spanning more than half a century.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: Oblivious to this effect, Watson continues his tireless campaign to shore up Icelandic whaling. Recently he said that if Iceland joined the EU it would need to stop whaling, encouraging Icelanders to vote Yes in the coming national referendum. This endorsement doubtless earned the No camp a handful of votes.

Captain Paul Watson: Well that’s one way of misrepresenting my activities, not that I care and the fact is that it is in the interest of Iceland to join the European Union and when it does, Loftsson will have to quit his sadistic hobby. I highly doubt that anything that I say will sway that vote one way or another. I don’t think a handful of votes will make a difference.

Freyr Thorvaldsson: And it matters what Icelanders think, for in the end, whaling is a decision that rests with the Icelandic parliament, and in turn the Icelandic public, not with Paul Watson’s social media following. According to a July 2026 poll, 41 percent of Icelanders are opposed to fin-whale hunting. Since 2023, Icelandic pressure group Hvalavinir has patiently advanced the arguments of a total whaling ban. They’ve done the detailed toil of report reading, marching, pressuring regulators, and talking to parliamentarians. The case they lay out against whaling is simple and free of Watson’s hysterics: whales are sacred, intelligent animals that are impossible to kill humanely with the methods we have; hunting them for profit is profane. If Iceland ever bans whaling, it’ll be because of organisations like Hvalavinir, not due to the direct action of Paul Watson’s publicity-hungry crew.

Captain Paul Watson: Ending whaling is a decision for humanity. Icelanders do not own the whalers they butcher. All power to Hvalavinir. They have my total support as do any and all organizations that oppose the evil of cetacide. If Iceland bans whaling and credit is given to Hvalavinir, That would be quite appropriate. But I must point out that without my approach of aggressive non-violence, whales would still be killed in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary where we saved the lives of 6,500 whales. And whatever you might think of the action, sinking half of Loftsson’s insidious fleet also saved quite a few whales.

Thanks for the enjoyable debate Freyr. Always fun to exchange pleasantries.

You can support Hvalavinir here: hvalavinir.is/styrkja. Freyr Thorvaldsson is a writer living in London. He has a newsletter where he posts articles and short stories, find it at freyr.substack.com.

https://grapevine.is/mag/opinion/2026/08/04/paul-watson-makes-icelanders-want-to-whale-harder/