Hvalur 8 RE-388 is an Icelandic whaling ship built in 1948 in Norway. It has been a part of the Icelandic whaling fleet operated and owned by the company Hvalur hf. since 1962.[1]
In 1973 she was requisitioned by the Icelandic Coast Guard, repainted and armed with a cannon and subsequently used as a patrol vessel during the Second Cod War dispute with the United Kingdom.[2] Unlike its sister ship, Hvalur 9 which was renamed Týr, Hvalur 8 kept its name while in the ICG service.[3] It was returned to its owner by June 1974.
Between 1987 and 2006, commercial whaling ceased in Iceland and the whaling ships remained unused at pier. After 20-years of inactivity, Hvalur 8 was brought back into action in June 2009.[4][5] As of 2022, the ship remains active.[6][7]
References
- ^ "Nýtt og stórt hvalveiðiskip". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 3 June 1962. p. 2. Retrieved 25 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Hvalbátarnir snarir í snúningum og hentugir í Þorskastríðið". Vísir (in Icelandic). 13 September 1973. p. 16. Retrieved 25 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Hvalur 8 fær ekki guðanafn". Alþýðublaðið (in Icelandic). 28 February 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 25 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Til veiða eftir 20 ára hlé". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 25 June 2009. p. 2 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Elsta hvalveiðiskipið 64 ára". Sjómannadagsblaðið (in Icelandic). 7 June 2009. p. 11. Retrieved 25 July 2022 – via Tímarit.is.
- ^ "Hval 9 verður gert til góða í slippnum". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 22 March 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
- ^ Kristján Már Unnarsson (22 June 2022). "Forstjóri Hvals býst við fyrsta hvalnum á land fyrir helgi". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 24 July 2022.