A beluga whale that turned up in Norway in 2019, sparking speculation it had been trained by the Russian navy because of a man-made harness it was wearing, has reappeared off Sweden’s coast, an organisation tracking his movements has said.

When he first appeared in Norway’s northern Arctic region of Finnmark, marine biologists from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries removed an attached harness with a mount suited for an action camera and the words “Equipment St Petersburg” printed on the plastic clasps.

Directorate officials said at the time that the whale may have escaped an enclosure, and may have been trained by the Russian navy, as it appeared to be accustomed to humans.

Norwegians nicknamed the beluga “Hvaldimir” – a pun on the word “whale” in Norwegian, hval, and “dimir”, a nod to its alleged association with Russia.

The OneWhale organisation said on Monday that Hvaldimir had spent more than three years slowly moving down the top half of the Norwegian coastline before suddenly speeding up in recent months to cover the second half and moving on to Sweden.

On Sunday, he was observed in Hunnebostrand, off Sweden’s southwestern coast, the organisation said. (Al Jazeera)

•PHOTO:A beluga whale wearing a harness is seen off the coast of northern Norway in April 2019 [File: Jorgen Ree Wiig/Sea Surveillance Service/NTB Scanpix via Reuters]