(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 24, 2022, the ship Hvalur 9 is seen transporting a 20-metre long fin whale off its hull to the processing plant in Hvalfjordur, near Reykjavik, which was then the first to be caught in nearly four years. Icelandic police have requested the deportation and a ban on re-entry into Iceland for 21 activists held in Reykjavik since their arrest during a protest against whaling, the police announced on August 1, 2026. The Bandero, a vessel belonging to animal rights activist Paul Watson's foundation, was boarded off the coast of Iceland in the evening of July 30 after interfering with the operations of the Hvalur 9one of the last two commercial whaling ships still active in the country. They are suspected of "violations of international maritime law and endangering maritime safety," as well as other offenses, including breaches of telecommunications regulations, a police spokesperson said. (Photo by Halldor KOLBEINS / AFP via Getty Images)