The Icelandic whaler Njordur was due to hunt more whales on Tuesday, a day after its crew harpooned the first whale caught off Iceland in 14 years despite environmentalists' anger and a U.S. threat of sanctions.

Dozens of people gathered in the harbor of the west coast village of Olafsvik, about 145 miles north of Reykjavik, to greet the Njordur when it docked at 11 p.m. local time Monday, local police said.

The Icelandic Marine Research Institute said the Njordur had caught one minke whale, but did not give its size. Adult Minke whales can reach a length of 10 yards.

"The ship came with a clean deck," Helgi Kristiansson, 64, told Reuters when asked if he had seen the whale. Two crates on the deck held whale meat and blubber, he said.

Journalists were not allowed to board the 15-meter long vessel. A Reuters eyewitness said the deck looked empty apart from half a dozen big knives and machinery covered with bloodstains, used to cut up the whale.

One of two police officers guarding the vessel estimated that the minke whale caught had yielded 500-600 kg of meat.

Icelandic authorities issued whaling permits to three vessels on Friday and they set out on Sunday amid protests from environmentalist groups and some governments.

Commercial whaling has been banned since 1986 because 13 of the world's great whale species are considered endangered.

Icelandic marine scientists say the purpose of the hunt is to assess the impact on fish stocks of the growing number of whales. If the whales become too numerous, the livelihood of Icelandic fishermen could be threatened, the scientists say.

A vast majority of Iceland's 290,000 people support whaling, opinion polls show.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States was "extremely disappointed" with Iceland's decision to approve the whale hunt and could consider sanctions against imports from the north Atlantic island.

Environmentalists were also outraged at the catch. "I am sickened to hear this news," Jill Sanders of the International Fund for Animal Welfare told Reuters.

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