HMNZS 'Wellington' (New Zealand Defence Force)
Large-scale fish poaching by unlicensed, high capacity vessels, threatens the survival of some fish species, and is a sensitive transnational issue.
There was, therefore, considerable media interest when, in late January, the Royal New Zealand Navy's offshore patrol vessel (OPV) 'Wellington' encountered fishing vessels, 'Kunlun' and 'Yongding', both blacklisted by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), in Commonwealth Bay, about 110 kilometres off the Antarctic Coast. Both ships were fishing for toothfish (often marketed as Chilean Sea Bass).
Commissioned in 2010, the 1,600 tonne OPV mounts a main armament of a 25mm. M242 Bushmaster cannon, and carries two RHIBs and an SH-2G Super Seaspright helicopter. Built to a well-tried design by Tenix/BAE Systems in Williamstown, Australia, the ship is designed to be capable of enduring seas of up to Sea State 9.
There was therefore, some sharp domestic, and international, criticism of the decision, citing rough weather, and evasive manoeuvring by the fishing vessels, not to board the unauthorised vessels. Political, as well as safety factors, might well have been in play, though, including concerns over liability for injuries incurred, uncertainty over legal backing for enforced boarding, and fears that apprehended crew members, who reportedly are mostly from developing nations, might have claimed asylum in New Zealand.
NZ foreign minister Murray McCully alleges that the suspect vessels belonged to the Spanish company Vidal Armadores, a company with previous convictions for illicit practices. The two ships each have at least 10 known previous names, and five former ports of registry. McCully said that the Equatorial Guinea (EG) government has told him that the ships' currently claimed EG registrations were bogus.
Following their encounter with 'Wellington' the unauthorised vessels ceased fishing and headed to a position about 90 kilometres off Australia's Marson research base, within an Australian-managed CCAMLR conservation area. There they were located, in early February, by 'Sam Simon' a former Japanese meteorological reporting ship, now belonging to the radical Sea Shepherd conservancy organisation. Sea Shepherd say that, after a prolonged confrontation, during which Yongding used aggressive steering tactics, the two suspect vessels left the area, apparently without having engaged in fishing, and headed north.
By Trevor Hollingsbee.
