New documentary reveals spy whale’s covert mission

A mysterious beluga whale, nicknamed Hvaldimir, has captivated the world’s attention ever since it was first spotted off the coast of Norway five years ago, wearing a harness designed for covert surveillance.

However, the true identity and hidden mission of this beluga, affectionately named Hvaldimir by the Norwegians, quickly evolved into a real-world enigma that both captivated the public and raised concerns among Western intelligence analysts, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.  

Now, new clues have emerged that may finally shed light on this aquatic mystery. In the upcoming BBC documentary Secrets of the Spy Whale, filmmakers reveal they have traced the likely movements of the beluga and identified its probable purpose.  

Hvaldimir, a name blending "hval," the Norwegian word for whale, with the first name of Russian president Vladimir Putin, has often been referred to as a "spy whale." This nickname arose after the whale was found wearing a harness marked with the words “Equipment of St Petersburg,” seemingly designed to carry a small camera. However, the documentary uncovers fresh evidence suggesting that Hvaldimir might have been trained as a covert “guard whale,” rather than being deployed for maritime espionage. 

"Our latest findings about the potential role Hvaldimir was trained for bring us closer to solving the mystery," said Jennifer Shaw, director of the upcoming BBC Two documentary Secrets of the Spy Whale. "But they also raise many more questions about what Russia might be trying to protect in the Arctic, and why."   After ten months of research into the curious history of marine mammal training, the documentary team interviewed one of the last surviving veterans of an early US Navy program conducted at Point Mugu in California.

Blair Irvine, now in his 80s, was a former dolphin trainer who helped develop the program. "Swimmers create bubbles, bubbles cause noise. The dolphin’s hearing is extremely sensitive, and in this context, it was unfailing," he explained.   Irvine and his team trained dolphins to patrol like sentries, listening for potential threats. If they detected sounds, they would push a paddle with their snouts to sound an alarm. The Soviet Union soon followed suit, launching a similar program. A fleet of dolphins is believed to have guarded the Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea, where they were kept in floating cages and trained to detect underwater saboteurs.

The documentary features insights from whale expert Dr. Eve Jourdain, who observed Hvaldimir's behavior in Hammerfest harbour in 2019. She noted that the whale would swim up to touch the cameras of anyone attempting to get close.

By Naila Huseynova