Sea Shepherd calls for warships to intercept vessel poaching in Antarctic waters
Sea Shepherd urges action after pursuit of ship taking Patagonian toothfish from Antarctic waters
Environmental campaigners Sea Shepherd have called on governments to use their warships to intercept a vessel wanted for poaching prized Patagonian toothfish in Antarctic waters, after the activists' three-month pursuit of the rogue fishing boat.
The chase at the bottom of the world has taken on a desperate edge, with the captain of the stateless and unregistered fishing boat, the Thunder, reportedly claiming that one of its crew had attempted suicide.
Sea Shepherd said it believed the Thunder's crewmen were being held against their will, and as slaves, they should be rescued by foreign navies. Sea Shepherd ships have been shadowing the formerly Nigerian-registered Thunder since it was first found using illegal gillnets to land toothfish on the Banzare Bank in Antarctica on December 17 .
The green group said the Thunder fled, abandoning fishing gear and the wildlife it had snared, and has been attempting to outrun the environmental group, which made its name with annual campaigns to disrupt the operations of Japan's whaling fleets. The attentions of Sea Shepherd have triggered a series of actions against the Thunder and five other vessels that have allegedly been carrying out illegal fishing operations. Yesterday, Sea Shepherd said Malaysian maritime authorities had detained another alleged toothfish poaching vessel, the Viking, and are questioning 18 crew, the majority Indonesian nationals but including Chilean and Peruvian citizens.
The captain of the ship, who has not been named and has refused to reveal his nationality, has been arrested, Sea Shepherd said. The Thunder has been unable to shake off the Sea Shepherd vessels Bob Barker and Sam Simon, and the attention prompted Nigerian authorities to remove the vessel from its registry of ships.
"That means that the Thunder is now officially a stateless, pirate-vessel, as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," Sea Shepherd said in a statement.
The captain of the Thunder last week attempted to persuade Sea Shepherd to break off the chase by reporting by radio that one of his Indonesian crew had attempted to kill himself.
The Bob Barker subsequently launched a speedboat and its crew hurled plastic bottles containing notes onto the deck of the Thunder. The messages said the Bob Barker was "willing and equipped" to take on board the injured crew man and any other members of the ship's complement who wish to leave.
The bottles were apparently gathered up by the officers of the Thunder and thrown overboard
The senior crew of the ship are believed to be Spanish and have links to Spain's Vidal Armadores fishing company.
At least three of the alleged poaching ships are the subject of an investigation by Interpol and are also believed to be operated by the company.
Sea Shepherd said the captain of the Thunder said his crew had rejected assistance from Sea Shepherd, adding that the vessel is provisioned to remain at sea for another nine months.
Another man, identified as the Indonesian "deck boss" reportedly read a statement saying that the crew did not wish to receive any more messages.
"I firmly believe that the Indonesian crew of the Thunder are trafficked persons under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime," said Peter Hammarstedt, captain of the Bob Barker. "I also believe that they are being held against their will and know that they are not allowed to communicate freely - this on board a vessel suspected of numerous fisheries crimes.
"The attempted suicide on board the Thunder, and the captain's apparent intention to stay at sea, gives me strong reason to worry about injury and death on board that vessel in the absence of government intervention."
If the crew of the Thunder are recognised as being victims of trafficking who are being kept aboard against their will, Sea Shepherd contends, Article 99 of the UN convention states that nations should act to halt any vessel suspected of involvement in "the transport of slaves".
"The Thunder is now both without nationality and in all reasonable assessment, must be considered to be engaged in the slave trade," said Sid Chakravarty, captain of the Sam Simon.
"In the name of human decency, in accordance with international law, responsible governments must immediately send naval vessels to intervene and shut down this floating prison."
