In April 2019 a seemingly tame beluga whale approaches a Norwegian fishing boat seeking help.  It is wearing a harness fitted with a camera mount. 

 

When the words "Equipment St Petersburg" are discovered printed on the buckle speculation breaks out that he has been engaged in some kind of sinister undercover activity.

 

International attention focuses on the small local community and visitors flock to the port of Hammerfest in the hope of catching a glimpse of the whale who is now performing tricks, including retrieving mobile phones from the seabed.  They name him Hvaldimir – a play on the Norwegian word for whale and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, but is this enchanting animal really a spy?

 

This feature-length documentary explores the mystery of the strange whale and asks where he came from, who trained him and why; and what he was doing in a critically-important part of the Arctic, close to Russian waters.

 

It’s a story that delves into the history of military training of dolphins and whales, taking us on an extraordinary journey from the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War to Putin’s Russia and modern-day warfare.

 

With exclusive interviews and access to unseen footage, the film explores the secret world of marine mammal training and international espionage, and sheds new light on the true identity of Hvaldimir, the "Spy Whale".