Sam Chambers

Up to 1,000 ships flagged to the Cook Islands, Palau, Sierra Leone, and Togo will be targeted for safety, maintenance and seafarer welfare inspections across the Mediterranean Sea in the coming eight weeks by an army of inspectors from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), seafarers’ unions and port authorities.

“Substandard shipping in the Mediterranean Sea is driving down seafarers’ wages and conditions, it’s endangering the lives of crew and risking our environment,” said ITF inspectorate coordinator Steve Trowsdale.

“These flags take money from shipowners to register ships that other countries wouldn’t touch. Many are old vessels and are poorly maintained by their owners. Many of these ships are dangerous and should not be trading,” he said.

The blitz comes off the back of new analysis showing the four flags of convenience registries together accounted for more than 100 crew abandoned in the last two years, with millions of dollars wages not paid to crew by the flags’ shipowners that the ITF then had to recover on seafarers’ behalf.

The ITF inspectors’ efforts will be bolstered in France by the country’s Port State Control agencies, which are organised regionally.

船舶事故調査報告書 参考資料 説明資料 (運輸安全委員会)

再発防止策 ・・・
船長は、適法で有効な海技免許を有していない乗組員を職員として船 橋当直につかせてはならない。 ・・・
今後必要とされる事故防止策
船長及び船橋当直者は、次の事項について徹底する必要がある。
(1) 船橋当直者は、船首方に船舶を認めた際、方位変化の観察、レーダープロッティング等を行うなど、見張りを適切に行うこと。
(2) 船長は、適法で有効な海技免許を有する職員を船橋当直につかせて適切な船橋当直体制を維持すること。
(3) 船橋当直者は、船舶と接近し、相手船の動作に疑問をもったときは、直ちに警告信号を行うとともに適切な時機に衝突を避ける動作をとること。

　運輸安全委員会は２６日、平成２５年９月に東京・伊豆大島沖で貨物船「第１８栄福丸」の乗組員６人全員が死亡した衝突事故についての調査報告書を公表した。衝突した西アフリカ・シエラレオネ船籍の貨物船「ジィア・フイ」が、中国人船長の指示で第１８栄福丸の船体に刺さった船首を引き抜いたために転覆が早まった可能性が高いことを明らかにした上で、「転覆までに時間的余裕があれば、乗組員は脱出できた可能性があった」と指摘した。

　報告書によると、事故は２５年９月２７日未明、伊豆大島西方沖で発生。南西方向に進んでいたジィア・フイは、栄福丸とほぼ正面で向き合った後、海上衝突予防法の規定とは逆の左に向けてかじを切り衝突。一方、栄福丸は同法の規定通り右にかじを切ってわずかに方向転換して航行していた。

　衝突で船首が栄福丸の左舷中央部に刺さったジィア・フイは、危険を感じた中国人船長の指示で後進し、離脱。船体に開いた穴（幅約３・５メートル、高さ約５・５メートル）から浸水した栄福丸は約３分４０秒後に転覆したとみられ、船長の大川信悟さん＝当時（６２）＝ら６人が死亡した。

　安全委は、ジィア・フイが離脱せずに船首を押しつけた状態を保っていれば栄福丸の急激な浸水を防ぎ、約１０分経過後でも「姿勢が大きく変化したとは考えられない」と指摘した上で、「転覆するまでに時間的余裕があれば、（栄福丸の）乗組員は船外に脱出できた可能性がある」とした。

　また、事故当時、ジィア・フイを操船していた当直責任者の中国人男性（３７）は、中国近海を航行する免許しか持っておらず、中国の運航会社との連絡や物品購入を担当する「実習生」として乗り組んでいたことも明らかにした。

　静岡地裁沼津支部は昨年３月、業務上過失致死罪などで、当直責任者の中国人男性に禁錮３年を言い渡し、その後確定した。

　山口県の周防大島（周防大島町）と柳井市を結ぶ大島大橋に貨物船が衝突し、送水管が破断した事故から２２日で１カ月。損害額は橋や送水管の復旧費だけで２８億円余りにのぼるが、船主による賠償額を制限する法律もあり、賠償の見通しは立たない。長引く断水で打撃を受けた島民らは不安を募らせる。

　「個人経営の店には、かなり痛手です」。島で美容院を営む木村順子さん（４３）はこぼす。断水で営業時間の短縮を迫られ、橋の通行規制で３割ほどいた島外の客は遠のいた。この１カ月間の売り上げはふだんより約２０万円減った。

　洗髪に使う水は毎日、給水所から運ぶ。湯を沸かすため風呂用のヒーターを４万円で買った。それでも普段通りのサービスが提供できず、客に割引券を渡すなど余分な出費もかさむ。「賠償は橋の修復やホテルなどが優先され、難しいんじゃないですかね」。半ば諦め顔で話した。

　５０６の個人や企業が加盟する周防大島町商工会には事故後、１００件以上の相談が寄せられ、半数が賠償に関するものだった。「専門知識もないし、商工会で対応できる話ではない」。中川利之経営指導員は頭を抱える。

　損害額は巨額になりそうだ。判明分だけで、橋の復旧に約２５億７千万円、仮の送水管の敷設に約２億５千万円。このほか、休業したホテルや店舗の売り上げ補償、本土に渡るための臨時船の運航費など、損害の範囲は多岐にわたる。

　村岡嗣政知事は「受けた損害は全て請求したい」と、事故直後に各部署の職員を集め、賠償の範囲や請求の手順を島民らに示すためのチームを立ち上げた。だが、１カ月近く経っても具体的には示せていない。

　海難事故に詳しい田川俊一弁護士によると、賠償請求には損害を証明する書類などを用意する必要がある。店の売り上げの減少額や、水を運ぶポリタンクの購入費、島外に洗濯に出た際のガソリン代なども認められる可能性はあるが、「数万円なら、手続きのための費用の方が高くつく可能性が高く、現実的ではない」と話す。

　さらに船舶事故では、船主が負担する賠償額に上限を定める船主責任制限法の壁がある。事故を起こしたマルタ船籍の貨物船エルナ・オルデンドルフ（２万５４３１トン）の場合、上限は約２４億円という。

今日は気になるマグロニュースをご紹介クリップ 「FOC漁船からの冷凍バチ輸入の疑いが浮上　小型超低温マグロ漁船漁獲物の可能性が濃厚」
今年上半期の冷凍バチの輸入は、既報のように数量減少、単価高とともに、台湾資本の便宜置籍超低温マグロ漁船の操業が問題になった際に便宜置籍国と言われたところからの輸入の増加も特徴の1つとなっている。バヌアツ、セーシェルといった便宜置籍漁船（FOC）の正常化国ではなく、 アフリカのコートジボワールや中南米のセントビンセント、ベリーズなどで、6月のコートジボワールからの輸入量は台湾、中国、バヌアツに次ぎ、セーシェルを上回る244トンに達した。また、セントビンセント、ビリーズは、水産庁が輸入事前確認によってFOCマグロとして公表した便宜置籍マグロ漁船国に“認定”された過去がある。
これらのFOCマグロの疑いがある冷凍バチの輸入が増加したのは、最近の超低温マグロ漁業が数年前の燃油高、魚価安から一転して燃油安、魚価高となり、採算がとれる可能性が高くなったことが考えられる。セーシェルのFOC正常化船も、燃油高、魚価安と海賊問題で一時は半数以上が係船と言われるところまで追い込まれたが、1~2年前からは係船されていた漁船が次々に稼働を再開したとされ、冷凍バチの今年上半期の輸入量は台湾、中国に続く第3位グループにつけている。 それでもセーシェルからの冷凍バチの上半期輸入量は前年比18％で、増隻はしていないことがうかがえる。

「小型超低温漁船日台合意遅延も背景の1つか」
これに対してコートジボワール、セントビンセント、ベリーズからの冷凍バチの輸入量は次のページ（下図）のように、決して大きな数量ではないにしても着実に増加している。この決して大きな数量ではないにしても着実に増加ということも、今回のFOC疑惑のを考えるうえで重要なポイントとみられる。というのは、 これらのFOC漁船が大型超低温漁船であれば、地域漁業管理機関や水産庁等の規制網に阻まれて輸入されていないのではないかと考えられるからで、これらは国際機関の漁船登録等の対象外である船長25メートル未満の小型超低温漁船であると考えると、決して大きな数量ではないにしても着実に増加に当てはまる。小型超低温漁船の増隻抑制、正常化については、 日台政府間で2016年までに台湾の小型超低温漁船を責任あるまぐろ漁業推進機構（OPRT）に登録させることで合意したにもかかわらず、台湾国内の漁業界の意見がまとまっていないとして台湾側の作業が遅れ、いまだに実現していない。コートジボワール、セントビンセント、ベリーズといったFOCの疑いがある国々からの冷凍バチ輸入増加の背景には、 冷凍バチの供給不足といったマーケット事情に、日台合意が実施されていないことを監視・規制の緩みと受け取られた可能性も考えられ、改めて同問題への真剣な取り組みが求められている。（日刊かつおまぐろ通信記事抜粋）

便宜置籍船（べんぎちせきせん、英: flag of convenience ship）とは、その船の事実上の船主の所在国とは異なる国家に船籍を置く船のことをいいます


通常、船主は所有船を国家に登録しなければなりません
しかし船主がその出資により、船を所有するためだけの会社を置籍国に設立する、という手段が用いられます
当然この会社は実態を持たないペーパーカンパニーとなります
なぜこんなことをするのかというと船舶の所有・置籍に課す税金を低く抑えれたり（タックス・ヘイヴン）、乗員の国籍要件等に関する規制を抜ける目的で行われます
また国によっては外国船籍を誘致する目的で便宜置籍船を受け入れる国も多々あります旗

便宜置籍船は主に外航海運で注目されているが、漁業においても国際漁業協定に加盟していない国に船籍を置くことによって、捕獲規制対象になっている魚種を捕獲している便宜置籍船が存在しており、国際的な問題になっています
また一部の船主がこの制度を悪用して、乗組員の処遇を他の国と比較して極端に低く抑えたりすることも問題となっています


マグロ船においても同様ですうお座 現在、マグロ船は国際管理機関であるOPRTによって国ごとのマグロ船の隻数を厳しく管理されています
そのため、日本や台湾のようなマグロ漁業国では船を増やせないようになっています
ところが船を増やしたい一部の外国船主が発展途上国にペーパーカンパニーを設立し、そこに自社のマグロ船を転籍させる事案が昔から横行していました
現在取り締まりを厳しくし、船長25m以上の大型漁船の転籍が難しくなったので、便宜置籍国の疑いがある国からのマグロの輸入は減っていましたが、最近25m以下の小型漁船の転籍が加速
それに伴い、再び便宜置籍船からの輸入が増えているのではないかというのが今回の記事です得意げ

これは国際的な問題なうえに実態調査が難しく、簡単に解決できない問題です
特に消費者側が違法な手段で獲られたマグロなのかどうかを見極めるのは不可能
しかしこれを許してしまうと船が無尽蔵に増え、マグロ資源の悪化につながるだけでなく、安く質の悪いマグロが日本に輸入され、知らず知らずに美味しくないマグロが食卓にあがることになりますえっ
厳しいルールのなかなんとかやっている我々日本の漁業者も便宜置籍船の価格に安いマグロに負けてしまいます


解決するには外国からマグロを買い付ける水産商社が便宜置籍船で獲られたマグロを購入しないことに尽きると思います
ストップ！違法マグロ！禁止

マレーシア海上法令執行庁（MMEA）(*)は、東南アジアの海底に沈んでいる、タンカーや汽船などを違法に引き揚げていたとして、中国籍の浚渫船「Chuan Hong 68（川宏68）」号を拘留した。

中国船「Chuan Hong 68（川宏68）」号は、全長122ｍ、排水量8352トンの浚渫船。 1969年に沈没したスウェーデンのタンカー「セブン・スカイズ（Seven Skies）」、1973年に難破したイタリアのばら積み貨物船「イガラ（Igara）」を違法に引き揚げ、スクラップとして売却していたとみられている。第二次世界大戦で沈没した日本の汽船「ひよしまる（日吉丸？）」や「かとりまる（香取丸？）」、旧日本軍の駆逐艦「狭霧」も引き揚げていたようだ。

残骸には戦没者の遺骨も残されており、海底の墓標を荒らす行為として関係各国は原因を調べている。


4月20日にインドネシア海軍によって一時拘束されたが、逃走していた。スシ・プジアストゥティ（Susi Pudjiastuti）海洋水産大臣は国際警察機構（インターポール、ICPO）の協力をもとめると発表。船を動向を監視するためマレーシア海上法令執行庁（MMEA）の支援を求めていた。

中国外交部の耿爽報道官は4月25日の定例記者会見で 、「Chuan Hong 68（川宏68）」号には中国国籍の船員17人が乗っていることと、マレーシアの会社に雇われていることを明らかにし、指定された海域でのオフショア作業に従事していたと伝えた。

（*）マレーシア海上法令執行庁（英語：Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency(MMEA)、マレー語：Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (APMM)）

Indonesia Captures Maritime Grave Robbers
MMAF Secures Treasure Stealing Ship from China
Indonesia seeks Interpol's help to find dredger, World News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

東南アジアでは、第二次世界大戦で沈没した艦船の残骸が荒らされる被害が続いている。

オランダ海軍の「デ・ロイテル（Hr. Ms. De Ruyter ）」と「ジャワ（Hr. Ms. Java）」、駆逐艦「コルテノール（Hr. Ms Kortenaer）」が、海底から消えていることが確認された。また、英国海軍の巡洋艦「エクセター（HMS Exeter）」と駆逐艦「エンカウンター（HMS Encounter）」の残骸もなくなり、米海軍の潜水艦も無くなったそうだ。

残骸には戦没者の遺骨も残されており、海底の墓標を荒らす行為として関係各国は原因を調べている。

1950年代以前に建造された船の鋼材は、放射能測定での環境放射能遮蔽材（低バックグラウンド遮蔽体、Low-background steel）としても利用される。

２次大戦で沈没した軍艦の残骸、海底から消える ジャワ海 - CNN
British second world war shipwrecks in Java Sea destroyed by illegal scavenging - The Guardian
Illegal divers strip ships sunk in WWII for scrap - The Straits Times
Missing Dutch warships maybe sold as scrap metal: report - NL Times

Kapal Keruk China MV Chuan Hong 68 Langgar Empat UU RI - Kompas
Perairan Anambas Tempat Chuan Hong 68 Ditangkap Banyak Harta Karun - kumparan
Kapal Keruk Berbendera China Diamankan Lanal Tarempa riauone.com - Berita Nusantara Terkini
中国打捞船盗宝栽了 仿效印尼 保护海底资产 - 星洲网 Sin Chew Daily
2017年4月25日外交部发言人耿爽主持例行记者会 — 中华人民共和国外交部

Stephanie Chao The China Post/ANN

“It is difficult to leave this place ... I’m often insulted by the captain, too. Here is a victim of violence on this ship,” Indonesian seafarer Mualip said in his recorded video of fellow seafarer Supriyanto, who is shown sitting dazed on deck of a ship that left Pingtung’s Dong Gang harbour in May.

In his narration, Mualip describes Supriyanto as having been beaten by crew members of the ship before recording the video. Supriyanto was sporting swelling and bruising on his face. “Thank you, Supriyanto. I hope you will recover soon,” Mualip said.

It would be one of the last visages of Supriyanto. In another video, he was shown at the brink of death in late August.

With the 580,000 foreign blue-collar workers living in Taiwan (as of 2015, the Interior Ministry’s figures showed there were approximately 630,000 foreigners in total) and a vast number of foreign spouses, with those coming from Southeast Asia making up almost 90 per cent (149,213 out of 165,902), one would assume that Taiwan would have already set up a comprehensive system in place to address the needs of a vast population.

A recent probe into the case of Supriyanto's death suggests otherwise.

In November 2015, the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office deemed the death of Supriyanto, who died onboard a fishing vessel in August, an accident. Prosecutors found that he died from illness caused by an untreated knee wound after falling from an elevated point on the ship while hanging clothes.

However, the prosecutors office did not completely close the case. Prompted by petitions from non-government organisations upholding seafarers’ rights, who found details of the case and Supriyanto’s death suspicious, the Control Yuan ombudsman Wang Mei-yu relaunched investigations into the case last December.

Misinterpretation or lack of interpretation?

Wang found critical evidence in the case -- three videos of Supriyanto recorded by Mualip --- to be controversial. After bringing in an interpreter who was familiar with Supriyanto’s language, an obscure Javanese dialect, the Control Yuan revealed that his statement in the video vastly differed from the translation recorded by the prosecutors’ office.

A factor neglected by prosecutors was misinterpretation of the videos: the two interpreters brought in by the prosecutors’ office in charge of the court translation did not understand Supriyanto and Mualip’s language and could not translate vital parts of the former’s statement, revealing that he had been beaten by crew members as well as the Taiwanese captain.

The Control Yuan’s probe concluded that the captain’s negligence in providing medical assistance to treat Supriyanto’s wounds had resulted in his death; as well as government negligence from the Executive Yuan’s Council of Agriculture and the Fisheries Agency to oversee foreign seafarers’ working rights and working environment.

The Pingtung Prosecutors’ Office, prompted by Wang’s report, has relaunched a probe into Supriyanto’s case.

The nuances of language

Supriyanto’s death refocused attention upon the poor working conditions of foreign seafarers, who are not fully protected under Taiwan’s labour laws. However, his case also turned attention to an overlooked factor, equally important to bringing about more equal treatment in court for blue-collar foreign workers or foreign spouses in Taiwan: language.

Prompted by Supriyanto’s case, a January 10 public hearing was held to discuss Taiwan’s community interpretation problems. It urged the government to consider directing more investment toward community interpretation talent training and certification in order to uphold constitutional rights for Taiwanese and foreign workers.

“I once saw a case that unfolded like this: a Filipino seafarer spoke in a long-winding sentence in his local dialect, however the interpreter, translating through a video conference, only said two sentences,” Lennon Wong, Serve the People Association Service Center and Shelter for Migrant Workers, told The China Post.

“That’s a definite misinterpretation of the truth.”

He added that foreign workers or spouses seeking medical treatment often ran into similar problems when their English or Chinese proficiency was not sufficient to accurately describe their symptoms.

Awakening Foundation, a women’s advocacy group, legal department director Chin Chi-fang said during the public hearing that addressing language barriers were often the pivotal point for foreign workers to receive their due at court.

“The impression among foreigners in Taiwan is that they don’t get their due diligence in Taiwanese courts. Language is one issue, but there is also prejudice,” interpreter Priya Lalwani Purswaney told the China Post, saying that foreigners try not to get into trouble here, but if they do, they try to get their cases heard elsewhere.

“Foreigners should be able to understand what’s going on” regarding the Taiwanese court system and constitution, and translation should be provided, but that is not always the case, she said.

Compiling the resources

A unanimous consensus among NGO’s and lawmakers was the urgent need to address the talent gap in Taiwan, despite government agencies’ ongoing efforts to train interpreters and hosting talent banks.

The government set up an interpreter talent bank back in 2009 which provided legal interpretation services, Immigration Affairs Deputy Director Yin Yu-hua said.

The job bank currently boasts 1,431 interpreters and provides translation services for 18 different languages, ranging from Vietnamese, English, Indonesian and Thai, he said.

However, Yu conceded that while the number of interpreters was sufficient, specific and lesser-known languages or dialects were much harder to find, citing a smaller talent pool and demand.

He also addressed the quality discrepancy of interpretation since government training did not adhere to any sort of certification, and citied lack of legal regulations and insufficient budget. Yu promised to direct efforts and training to increase quality.

In spite of the government’s confidence in providing adequate quantity interpreters, TransAsia Sisters Association, Taiwan (TASAT) executive secretary general Hsieh Shih-hsuan said otherwise, citing unequal resource distribution nationwide.

A case in Hualien County involved an interpreter who could not understand a local Indonesian dialect, Hsieh said. “You can’t say that (the government) has a sufficient number of Indonesian speakers, but should, consider whether there are enough resources to provide services for dialects of the language, and whether local agencies could obtain such resources in time.”

In the association’s view, “the government hasn’t achieved that,” Hsieh offered. In the end, the prosecutors or lawyers managed to reach out to them, and they provided a suitable interpreter.

“There are so many new immigrants and legal interpreters in eastern Taiwan, yet (we) couldn’t find suitable resources, and we still had to look back to the capital for assistance,” Hsieh said, calling out on the gaps in talent distribution and training.

Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers Yu Mei-nu and Tsai Pei-hui agree that the government should lead efforts to take stock of existing resources, specifically interpreters and second-generation offspring of new immigrants from Southeast Asia, who cpuld become Taiwan’s critical talent pool to draw from.

Speaking to The China Post in a joint interview with Yu, Tsai said on top of coming up some sort of certification programme to ensure interpretation quality, creating an usable platform to aggregate talent must be considered.

She suggested that the government could set up regional centers to provide professional interpretation around Taiwan: for example, centres overseeing services in eastern, central, northern or southern Taiwan, which would help relieve the burden from interpreters who might have to travel long-distances from their homes to work on cases in far-flung parts of the country.

Yu said that criteria and compilation of data should be considered, ranging taking stock of interpreters who could provide services for certain languages, the ratio of foreign spouses, country of origin, the number of second generation offspring who could leverage their bilingualism. After the public hearing, both Yu and Tsai asked the Executive Yuan to consider assigning a minister without portfolio to oversee such undertakings, which they believe would require cooperation between multiple government agencies.

“There should be a schedule in place; like what we should do in two years, or a monthly agenda,” Tsai said, in order to push the administration to carry out related work.

Improving interpreters’ conditions However, both Hsieh, Purswaney and lawmakers echo similar sentiments that working conditions for interpreters must be addressed as well, specifically low pay, in order to motivate talents in the industry.

Hsieh proposed at the public hearing that a “special law” should be drawn up to guarantee interpreters’ working pay and environment.

Lawmaker Tsai pointed out that a price floor should be drawn up to ensure that interpreters of southeast asian languages can receive “adequate and reasonable” pay, who cited numbers mentioned at the public hearing of only a few hundred New Taiwan dollars per hour, compared to higher wages for English interpretation.

A joint effort
A silver lining in Supriyanto’s case was government attention from not only Taiwan, but also in his home country, Indonesia.

Control Yuan’s Wang, before the interview wrapped up, brought up that when accompanying with Control Yuan President Chang Po-ya’s delegation to Indonesia, they received a positive feedback from Indonesian government’s BNP2TKI, which oversees safety and protection for Indonesian workers abroad, when they expressed concern about cracking down on local illegal employment agencies that exploit migrant workers.

Efforts to prevent illegal employment agencies in Indonesia and Taiwan should be carried out to ensure protection and basic human rights for foreign workers, Wang said, pointing out that joint efforts should be made.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) reports that crewmembers aboard a Korean bulker docked in Mackay, Australia, were literally starving. The ITF says the conditions aboard the flag-of-convenience (FOC) ship are a stark reminder of the risks that mariners can face in the unregulated world of FOC shipping. The Conservative Australian government is seeking to repeal that country’s version of the Jones Act and open the domestic trades fully to FOC vessels.

A spokesperson for the ITF said one crewmember aboard the Korean bulk carrier, the C. SUMMIT, was diagnosed by a doctor as suffering from malnutrition. Four members of the crew fled the ship in Mackay, claiming they feared for their lives. ITF Assistant National Coordinator Matt Purcell said the men, all of whom were from Cambodia or Burma, had been victims of “the worst kind of bullying” he had ever encountered in his work as an inspector.

“The crewmembers claim they have received no wages for several months,” he said. “They have been locked in hatches and have survived on what I can only describe as a starvation diet.” Purcell said two contracts were found by inspectors, one signed by the workers before boarding and the other, “which doesn’t meet even the most basic international standards,” signed shortly after joining the ship.

The C. SUMMIT is owned by South Korea-based Chang Myung Shipping Co. The ITF said its many deficiencies had been repeatedly noted by inspectors in a number of different port state control areas.

ITF President Paddy Crumlin said although the ship was an extreme example, many ships calling at Australian ports have poor records on safety, pollution and crew welfare. “The sea is a largely unregulated environment in which greedy shipowners and operators are allowed to get away with egregious breaches of human rights, and the Australian government is regularly turning a blind eye to the breaches happening in our waters,” Crumlin said. The country’s prime minister, he added, “seems to want these awful breaches to increase by wiping out the Australian merchant navy fleet through complete deregulation.”

The country’s Conservative government is attempting to dismantle the Coastal Trading Act, which stipulates that ships trading between Australian ports must be crewed by Australian workers or else paid comparable wages.

MICHAEL FIELD

OYANG 70: Pictured in June 2006, it sank in the Southern Ocean more than 200 nautical miles off Dunedin.

A South Korean fishing boat that sank on Monday in the Bering Sea with the loss of at least 52 men is owned by the same company that lost a ship in New Zealand and has had two more convicted here and forfeited to the crown.

Sajo Industries' 36-year-old trawler Oryong 501 sank on Monday while fishing for Alaska Pollock which, with New Zealand hoki, is the main fish used worldwide in McDonald's Filet-O-Fish.

Sajo also owned the 38-year-old Oyang 70, which sank in New Zealand's exclusive economic zone in August 2010 while hauling in a big bag of southern blue whiting, killing six men.

Sajo has been convicted in New Zealand courts over the boats Oyang 75 and 77 for the abuse of environmental, fishing and labour laws, and both boats have been ordered forfeited to the Crown.

South Korean media today highlighted Sajo's role in New Zealand and the allegations of appalling labour abuses aboard the foreign charter fishing vessels that were used to take Maori Waitangi Treaty quota.

The Korea Times says families of the men from the 1753 ton Oryong 501 believe the sinking was a man-made disaster caused by reckless fishing in bad weather.

They said Sajo pushed ahead with fishing despite high waves and strong winds.

"It seems the vessel tried fishing in bad weather conditions with high winds and waves four metres high," Kim Cheon-sik, a family member of one of the missing fishermen, told the Korea Herald.

Ships should return to port in such conditions, he said.

Sajo director Lim Chae-ok said it was the captain's decision.

"People at the head office in Seoul cannot know weather conditions at sea, so the captain usually decides."

Oryong 501 sank at around 2.20pm local time on Monday, with 60 seamen onboard. Eight people were rescued but one of them, a Korean, later died of hypothermia, while 52 others are still missing, according to the Korean Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

There is little hope now in appalling winter conditions that the missing men will be rescued. Four empty lifeboats have been recovered.

Like the ships used in New Zealand, Oryong was mainly crewed by low wage Asian men.

There were 35 Indonesians, 13 Filipinos, 11 South Koreans and one Russian inspector.

The Korea Herald said families believe it took four hours from the ship's first listing to its eventual sinking, but the company failed to order the crewmembers to evacuate and prepare for rescue measures at a proper time.

One family member claimed that when he talked to one of the missing sailors over the phone before the accident, he said that the company had ordered them to do additional fishing, although they already had the assigned amount of catch.

Lim Chae-ok denied the ship had an excessive amount of fish.

"Due to bad weather, we suspect too much water came into a fish container and the container became waterlogged."

His claims are strikingly similar to those made around Oyang 70 after it sank off the Bounty Islands, east of Otago.

It pulled in a large catch of whiting in calm seas but its captain, who went down with the ship, lost control of it and water flooded the fish factory and engine room.

The sinking of Oyang 70 had little impact in Korea at the time, but the new disaster comes less than eight months after the sinking of the Sewol ferry off South Korea's south-western coast in April left more than 300 passengers dead, mostly teenagers on a school trip.

Oyang 75, which was bought in to New Zealand to replace Oyang 70, has been ordered forfeited over fishing and environmental violations. It is currently under bond in the Indian Ocean and is likely to be auctioned in New Zealand.

Oyang 77, convicted for misreporting its catch and fish dumping, is also to be forfeited. It is currently squid fishing near the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. It has been renamed by the Koreans to Jille.

- Stuff

Story is that the Korean company that owns this boat and / or the captain became aware that they were about to be investigated and decided to flee for open water. In the belief that the NZ Navy was chasing them, they returned to Port and very quickly paid off there crew and bussed them to Christchurch International Airport for a quick departure paying them $4000 for 2 years work.

NZ Govt is currently investigating a number of Korean charter fishing boats over allegations of poor and slave like working conditions, little or no pay, abuse of crew etc.

__________________________________

Additional information about this ship and others from the The Christchurch Press 12.March.2012

A Korean fishing boat is under High Court arrest over claims its owners owe $2.335 million in unpaid wages over two years.

Agents for 36-year-old foreign charter vessel (FCV) Oyang 77 tried before dawn on March 3 to get its crew on a Singapore Airlines plane from Christchurch but Ministry of Fisheries enforcement officers intercepted them.

Six agreed to help in official "investigations into whether the Oyang 77 has breached fisheries regulations" and have been kept in hiding in Christchurch.

Industry sources told the Sunday Star-Times that conditions are so appalling on Oyang 77 that six Korean officers tried to leave. Oyang fishes iwi quota in a charter operated by Southern Storm Ltd, a shell company for Korea's Sajo Oyang Corporation.

On March 1 a ministerial inquiry warned Korean FCVs mistreated crews and damaged New Zealand's international reputation. It made a series of recommendations for tighter control.

Oyang 77, one of 13 Korean-flagged ships out of a 21-strong FCV fleet, has become the cause celebre for campaigners fighting the slave-like conditions aboard the boats first exposed a year ago by the Star-Times. Last month it was refused a licence to fish here.

Already held under a High Court warrant over $160,000 in damages to Talley's Fisheries, Oyang 77 moved on March 3 to get its crew out. Tauranga lawyer Craig Tuck, founder of Slave Free Seas group, says Southern Storm threatened the crews and said if they did not go they would not get bonuses of around $4000.

They were told agents in Indonesia would make their lives even harder. "It was very threatening and the men felt very intimidated," he said.

On Monday, Tuck, acting for 26 crewmen, obtained a High Court arrest warrant over Oyang for the unpaid wages. Southern Storm, in a press release, denied any wages were owed.

While New Zealand authorities have been indifferent in the past to the plight of FCV crews and unwilling to enforce a code of conduct, that changed last week.

After the fishermen cleared Customs and were heading to the departure gate, Fisheries enforcement reached them. Men were asked to stay back to help with investigations against the owners of the Oyang 77. Allegations include illegal dumping and high grading of fish in the exclusive economic zone, as well as trucking, which means quota is illegally moved from one area to another.

"A small number of Oyang 77 crew members have chosen to stay in New Zealand and are assisting with these investigations," Fisheries deputy director-general Scott Gallacher said.

Oyang 77 is a sister ship to Oyang 70 which sank off Otago two years ago killing six, and of Oyang 75, whose crew walked off in Lyttelton in protest at inhumane conditions aboard.

Another FCV, Mellila 201, which is owned by Taejin Fishieries of Korea, and chartered by United Fisheries in Christchurch, remains under arrest at the insistence of the crew, with claims of $1.8m owed in salaries.

New Zealand government alleges range of worker abuses, and weak Korean government response

By Ko Na-mu, Hankyoreh 21 staff writer in Jakarta

The New Zealand Department of Labor prohibited the South Korean deep-sea fishing vessel ShinJi from hiring foreign crews on March 5, citing its refusal to participate in a government survey on labor conditions. The country’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry also stripped a boat of its work permit in February, charging it with violating vessel safety standards. The ShinJi is part of a troubling trend of delinquent South Korean vessels who violate standards abroad and aren’t being punished at home.

A New Zealand government report stated that numerous allegations and reports had been made about low wages and abusive treatment of foreign crews, and that all of the complaints lodged with the inspection team had been against one country.

A controversy has been brewing overseas over that “one country,” while its own government has been asleep at the wheel.

Hankyoreh 21 obtained a New Zealand government report from February titled “Report of the Ministerial Inquiry into the Use and Operation of Foreign Charter Vessels (FCVS)”. The report makes strongly worded criticisms about abuses against foreign crewmembers and unreasonable employment conditions on the Sajo Oyang boats fishing in New Zealand’s exclusive economic zone.

Sajo Oyang is South Korea’s biggest fishing company and is at the center of accusations by the New Zealand government of South Korean vessels violating fishery management standards, vessel safety, employment and labor conditions, and abusing workers. One South Korean boat was stripped of its fishing permit in February, a first since South Korean vessels began fishing in the country’s waters. The situation could be damaging to international standings of both South Korea and New Zealand.

Documented mistreatment 　

Of particular note is the report’s mention of foreign crew labor conditions and abuses in connection with a National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) petition.

Some in New Zealand were dismayed with their own government’s failure to regulate its waters and to allow such abuses to go on. In a section of Chapter 2 on “Damage to New Zealand’s international reputation,” the government stated, “During 2011 there were complaints and allegations about such issues as vessel safety, [foreign crews’] living and working conditions, physical and sexual abuse by officers, underpayment and manipulation of time sheets. . . There is no doubt that these allegations of exploitative labor practices and sub-standard working conditions have been damaging to New Zealand’s reputation as a progressive and fair-minded nation.”

The report went on to note, “Most of the incidents reported that are causing damage to New Zealand’s reputation appear to have occurred on Korean flagged vessels. The names of certain Korean vessels and owners came up repeatedly. The alleged abuse occurred mostly against Indonesian crews.”

The allegations also came from New Zealand fishermen. Many of the country’s vessel owners and fishermen reportedly told the team that they believed the practices of South Korean officers amounted to exploitation.

While noting allegations about the behavior of South Korean operators, the report states, “The Panel received no complaints about the mistreatment of crew on vessels currently flagged to the Ukraine, Dominica or Japan.”

It was South Korean deep-sea fishing boats that triggered the investigation in the first place. In 2010, the Oyang 70 capsized, taking the lives of six crews, some of them Indonesian. One of the problems mentioned was a lack of proper safety equipment.

In 2011, an entire crew of 32 Indonesian sailors fled the Oyang 75 over sexual harassment and abusive treatment. The situation became a cause celebre in New Zealand. Many local news outlets began devoting major attention to allegations of abuse on South Korean boats. The University of Auckland Business School was first to draft a report, determining that many of the allegations of abuse and low wages were verifiable.

New Zealand’s Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the Department of Labor then set up a joint investigation panel for a study that took place between Aug. 2011 and Feb. 2012. Written questionnaires were sent to industry representatives, including local and foreign ship owners, manning agents, vessel operators, and crewmembers. Thirty-two people participated in face-to-face interviews. The panel and representatives from the University of Auckland Business School’s New Zealand Asia Institute (NZAI) traveled to Indonesia in 2011 and 2012 to interview most of the Indonesian sailors from the Oyang 75.

At the front of its report, the New Zealand government states, “This publication represents the collective view of the Ministerial Inquiry into Foreign Charter Vessels,” though it adds the proviso that it “is not government policy.”

Shocking findings emerged in the November 2011 report from the NZAI, which were previously presented by some South Korean news outlets, including a January 2012 article in the Korean version of Le Monde Diplomatique on “Overfishing and Abuses: The Competitiveness of South Korean Tuna Boats.” They included substantiation of the credibility of claims by Indonesian crews about a South Korean officer embracing and attempting to kiss foreign sailors and fondling their genitals. The University of Auckland research team interviewed a total of 144 people, including Indonesian crewmembers from the Oyang 70 and Oyang 75. The report also said the human rights commissions of New Zealand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) had discussed the issue with the NHRCK.

Sexual crimes 　

The NHRCK’s discrimination remediation committee ruled on Apr. 18 to dismiss a petition submitted by the Korean House for International Solidarity (KHIS) and Advocates for Public Interest Law on behalf of six Indonesian crew members from the Oyang 75, contending that they had experienced sexual harassment and other abuses. The commission did not announce its decision publicly.

Questioning of members and associates of the NHRCK standing committee found that the commission did acknowledge a “possibility” that the subject of the complaint, an individual surnamed Gang who was boatswain on the Oyang 75, did fondle the genitals of six Indonesian crew members or rub his own genitals against them.

“Given the presence of common allegations among the victims, who all pointed to Mr. Gang as the perpetrator and claimed that Mr. Gang either thrust his genitals at them or rubbed them against the victims’ bodies, embraced the victims, and chased Indonesian crew members while they were showering, it is impossible to rule out the possibility of sexual harassment,” the NHRCK said.

The commission ultimately dismissed the case due to inconsistencies, arguing that the accounts of victims and witnesses did not add up. At the same time, in a kind of “compromise,” it advised that efforts be made to prevent sexual harassment of sailors on deep-sea fishing vessels and provide aid to victims.

The commission’s members are believed to have disagreed sharply during the decision process. “We’re current revising the decision,” an NHRCK representative said. “We’re not sure when the final one will come out.”

The NHRCK also confirmed allegations that a boatswain identified as Choe had engaged in physical and verbal abuse and that Sajo Oyang had drafted two different versions of the wage contracts for Indonesian crewmembers. However, it ruled to reject the verbal abuse and wage issues as outside the scope of its investigations.

Sajo Oyang management denied all charges. The alleged sexual harassment perpetrator identified as Gang reportedly told the NHRCK that there was “no truth to the claims of sexual behavior,” without giving specifics. Choi told the NHRCK, “I have done things like shout, lightly kick, gently slap someone’s head, or pull someone’s ear, but I have never engaged in serious physical abuse.” Sajo Oyang said, “Wages were all precisely calculated and paid,” without elaborating further. Sajo Oyang declined interview requests from Hankyoreh 21.

Another issue has been a lack of diligence. Among the factors cited by the NHRCK in dismissing the petitions was the “difficulty in obtaining testimony” from four major witnesses. The Hankyoreh 21 received a brief account of these witnesses’ current circumstances after inquiring with the human rights group ATKI Indonesia. One is currently a construction worker in Jakarta, while the other three are working on a Russian fishing boat. All four were interviewed by the New Zealand government. However, the NHRCK only conducted written surveys of the six petitioners. ATKI Indonesia member Iweng said, “The South Korean human rights commission doesn’t seem to be taking this case very seriously.”

University of Auckland Business School senior lecturer Christina Stringer, who spearheaded the investigation, said in e-mail to the Hankyoreh 21 that while she was unaware how many Indonesian crew members the NHRCK had interviewed, her team’s study uncovered evidence strongly indicating that a number of Indonesian fishermen were repeatedly sexually harassed and assaulted.

Stringer also said that a copy of the report had been provided at the request of the South Korean embassy in New Zealand, but that there had been no response.

South Korean government refuses to cooperate 　

Chapter 7 of the New Zealand government report includes a roundabout swipe at the lack of cooperation from the South Korean government, stating, “Information about a vessel’s risk profile is not generally shared among the relevant government agencies.”

According to international practice, the New Zealand government has no authority to investigate labor and human rights issues on foreign-flagged vessels as long as they do not involve fishery management standards. Legal responsibility lies with South Korea. Between Aug. 2011 and March of this year, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, and the NHRCK held a total of three joint meetings. While the agencies in question did have the South Korean fishing businesses under investigation attend, including Sajo Oyang, they made little effort to contact the Indonesian crewmembers. After three meetings, they have yet to take measures to improve the system.

The Hankyoreh 21 asked two of the six petitioners from the Oyang 75 whether they still harbor ill feelings toward South Koreans. One of them, named Trismanto, said, “Before, I thought all Koreans were bad. I changed my mind after meeting the KHIS members last year.”

The other, Sugito, said, “I forgive them now. And I’d like to keep working on fishing boats. But I first want a resolution to this case.” Sugito’s goal is to bring the facts of the sexual harassment to light and receive all his wages. The two young men plan to visit South Korea some time around June at the request of KHIS. They will come to Korea as free men seeking justice, not as laborers working for meager wages.

　　※On the Investigation: Interviews took place in Jakarta on May 4. Trismanto and Sugito arrived at ATKI Indonesia’s offices in Jakarta after a seven-hour trip by train and bus from their hometown of Tegal. Iweng, a member of ATKI Indonesia, translated their responses from Indonesian to English. The two men were asked about the sexual harassment and wage exploitation allegations, as well as personal matters such as their families, hobbies, employment contract process, and their boarding and fleeing of the vessel. The New Zealand government report, University of Auckland report, KHIS petition text, and NHRCK ruling also served as major resources.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

An investigation of how six fishermen died after the trawler they were on sank in the Southern Ocean has heard how the Korean captain valued the catch over the crew of the ship.

Korean registered ship the Oyang 70 sank 740 km off the Otago coast in August 2010 but only three of the six men's bodies were recovered.

The investigator heard today what survivors told police in the minutes before the Oyang 70 sank - that the trawler was overrun with thousands of fish, panic and fear.

“The chief engineer was crying. The chief engineer cut the net, nothing happened. Water started covering the deck so I jumped into the water.

“Men crying and begging...is taking frightened to the outside of its meaning...they were terrified...yes terrified.”

Up to 120 tonnes of fish had been partially hauled on board the Oyang 70, causing the ship to list and capsize.

One of the 45 survivors estimated there was three times the normal amount of fish in the net.

“It was the biggest haul of fish they'd ever seen, with many of them being experienced fishermen.”

Crew say the captain was more interested in saving the fish than the fishermen.

A number of factors could have contributed to the end result.

A larger than normal net was used because the usual, smaller net had been damaged.

The net was supposed to have battery powered sensors attached to it to count the fish, but the sensors were not working so there was no way to tell how many fish were in the net.

Survivors told police they had never practiced evacuating the ship - although they had done fire drills.

It is disputed whether a siren alerted crew to abandon ship and they described a poorly maintained ship filled with cockroaches and lax safety standards.

The inquiry is expected to take the rest of the week.

Joint Media Statement

The owner, Sajo Oyang Corporation of Korea and the NZ charterer, Southern Storm Fishing (2007) Limited, with much regret, confirm that their vessel, the Korean flagged Oyang 70 has been lost at sea some 400 nautical miles east of Otago.

At this stage it is unclear what caused the vessel to sink. The vessel released its two 406 mhz emergency position indicating beacons (EPIRBs) at 04:37 am NZ time today and sent a distress call to other vessels in the area through VHF channel 16. The EPIRB signals, which utilise satellite communication signals, programmed with the ship identify and contact details were received at the NZ Rescue Communications Centre operated by Maritime NZ almost immediately and a Maritime search and rescue operation was commenced shortly thereafter.

A number of New Zealand and foreign charter vessels fishing in New Zealand waters responded to the ships distress call. In particular the New Zealand owned FV Amaltal Altantis received the ships distress call, immediately sent a mayday call and, along with other vessels, steamed at full speed to the last known position of the Oyang 70, where they participated in the rescue of crew and the search for missing personnel.

The owner and the New Zealand charterer have been advised by the Rescue Coordination Centre that 45 crew members, along with the bodies of three crew members have been recovered by the FV Amaltal Atlantis. A search is currently underway, involving seven ships and an RNZAF Orion, for three missing crew members, including the vessels Captain.

Sajo Oyang Corporation and Southern Storm Fishing (2007) Limited wish to take this opportunity to express their deep appreciation for the efforts involved by all members of the Maritime community, New Zealand authorities and the New Zealand fishing industry that have come to the aid of the vessel and the missing crew members. They would particularly take the opportunity to thank the owners, Captain and crew of the FV Amaltal Atlantis for their assistance in this matter.

While the cause of the vessel sinking is unknown at this time and the matter is likely to be the subject of official investigation, the owner and charterer have no reason to believe that the sinking was in any way related to the condition of the vessel. The FV Oyang 70 underwent a full Maritime New Zealand safety inspection in July 2010 and was equipped with a full complement of life saving equipment, life rafts and cold water immersion suits as required by both International and Maritime conventions. The vessel had a full and current Maritime NZ Safe Ship Management certificate at the time of sinking. In addition the vessel was surveyed to Korean survey standards in Lyttleton in December 2009. Korean survey standards comply with the requirements of IMO conventions and are consistent with the standards required in respect of NZ owned vessels.

The owner and the NZ charterer of Oyang 70 have been fully involved in the marine SAR operation from the time the sinking became known early this morning and have assisted maritime authorities with information that has been of assistance to the search and rescue operation. Both companies will offer every support to the survivors throughout the inquiry and will provide accommodation, support and repatriation to their homes as soon as they are in a position to do so as approved by the authorities. The companies will also make every endeavour to provide support to the families of those who have lost loved ones in this tragedy.

Most importantly, both the owner and the New Zealand charterer wish to take the opportunity to express their deepest sympathy to the families of the crew members of the vessel that have lost their lives.

ENDS

The Oyang 70 sank around 4.40am this morning Wed, 18 Aug 2010. The three men whose bodies were recovered after a Korean fishing vessel sank in the Southern Ocean today are all Indonesian. The crew took to life rafts when their 82-metre fishing factory ship, Oyang 70 sank about 800km southeast of Dunedin about 4.40am. The vessel carried a crew of 51.So far 45 have been rescued from life rafts by New Zealand fishing vessel Amaltal Atlantis. The ship also found three bodies, all Indonesian, but the Korean skipper and two other crew members were still missing. The National Rescue Coordination Centre in Wellington said the search would continue and the air force Orion which arrived shortly after 9am today could stay in the search area for most of the day. The survivors were all in good condition though the Amaltal Atlantis skipper said some had mild hypothermia, Talleys deep sea fleet chief executive Tony Hazlett said. Amaltal Atlantis was within five or 10 nautical miles of the Oyang 70 when the alarm was raised and there was no hesitation about heading for the stricken vessel as fast as it could, Mr Hazlett said. "We do everything we can to assist. You are 400 (nautical) miles off the coast of New Zealand and your first priority is to assist a vessel in distress." It was very cold but the seas were calm. The Amaltal Atlantis skipper could not give clues about why the Oyang 70 sank. He said there was also no indication the missing six crew members had made it into liferafts or were in the water. "But as time goes on it is looking worse." Amaltal Atlantis did not have accommodation for so many extra people but they were being looked after well. "The skipper said for what they have been through everyone is in pretty good condition. Obviously it is very stressful, the water was very cold so we are doing everything to look after them," Mr Hazlett said. There was plenty of room on the Amaltal Atlantis, he said. "Everyone has got blankets and everyone is as comfortable as they can be. We have got enough food for a crew of 40 people for 50 days." Once the Amaltal Atlantis had been released by the search centre it would head to Dunedin or Christchurch with the survivors. The centre said six boats, and not five as it earlier indicated, were searching for the missing men. Representatives of the Korean and Indonesian consulates visited the rescue centre earlier today and were briefed on the search.
NZPA
Oyang No.70 IMO 7238852, dwt 1379, built 1972, flag South Korea.

マレーシアの英字新聞THE STAR ONINEが5月23日、マレーシア海事当局はケンディ島沖で作業中のサルベージ船を発見し不法行為を行っていたとして乗組員を逮捕したと報じています。 発見時このサルベージ船は日本の特設砲艦「長沙丸」の引き上げ作業をしており、中国国籍の船長と乗組員9名を逮捕し引き上げられた残骸や取引先の調査、余罪の洗い出しを行っているとのこと

※引用先（1）

おなじくマレーシアの英字新聞THE STAR ONINEが5月22日付で

ペナン島沖で、サルベージ業者が今年に入り少なくとも5隻以上の沈船を鉄くず回収目的で当局に無許可で引き上げたと報じています

同紙によると不法引き上げの被害にあった沈船の中には旧日本海軍の軍艦、重巡洋艦「羽黒」、軽巡洋艦「球磨」、特設砲艦「長沙丸」が含まれています

•業者がマレーシア当局に無届でサルベージ作業を行っている
•沈船が漁礁として地元の大切な漁場になっており漁業者に被害が出ている
•大戦中に亡くなった水兵たちの墓標であり慰霊の場であること
などの問題点を同紙は解説し、地元から業者に対する非難や中止を求める声が上がっていることを伝えています

※引用先（2）（3）

8月14日NHKニュース9で、この件について特集が組まれ流されましたが、マレーシア現地業者と誤解しそうな表現を使われていましたので気になり調べてみました。

元ソースであるマレーシア紙THE STAR ONINEを読み、鮮明が記されているので海事ポータルからこの当該船について調べました

HAI WEI GONG 889　

•IMO：8662452
•船型：クレーン船
•建造：2007年中国福建省 FUJIAN XINCHANG SHIPBUILDING
•母港：丹東
•船籍：中国→カンボジア
　※引用先（4）　※引用先（5）

この違法サルベージ作業船は乗組員や船歴からして地元の業者ではなく中国の業者と見るのが妥当なようです

地元漁業者の生活の糧であり、大戦の慰霊の場であり、ダイビングスポットとして観光資源になっているペナン島沖の戦没艦船を無許可で鉄屑として転売しようという業者の行為は許されることではありません

戦時中に海没した艦船が違法サルベージ業者に狙われる事案が他にも

バタビア沖海戦で沈没した豪海軍軽巡洋艦「パース」

マレー沖海戦で沈没した英海軍戦艦「HMSプリンス・オブ・ウェールズ」「HMSレパルス」

などでも起こっており英国政府もこれら海の墓標を荒らされることに深い懸念を発しています

※引用先（6）

THE STAR ONINE紙の一連の報道に注目が集まるにつれてマレーシア当局も取り締まりに本腰を入れはじめたようですが、これ以上死者の眠りを妨げるような事のないよう願っています

by eddie chua

PETALING JAYA: A ship that illegally stripped shipwrecks off Penang island for scrap metal has been detained and impounded by the northern region Marine Depart­ment.

There was a mountain of rusty ship parts and salvage work was in progress when the agency’s officials boarded the ship, which is equipped with a crane, off Kendi Island.

The agency had been alerted about the illegal operation after The Star first discovered the salvaging there last week.

The Cambodian-registered vessel was caught red-handed dredging the Chosa Maru wreck, better known as the Japanese wreck among locals. The skipper and his nine-man crew, all Chinese nationals, have been arrested.

Aside from seizing the ship, the authorities impounded a workboat that accompanied Hai Wei Gong 889, a Chinese-made vessel that was commissioned in 2007.

“The ship does not have the documents for salvage work and was operating illegally in Malaysian waters,” a marine department official said.

The ship, workboat and its crew had been ordered to sail to Lumut, where the ship is now impounded.

“We are also investigating where the vessel had disposed the scrap metal after salvaging at least five shipwrecks off Penang, including the two Japanese World War II wrecks,” the official said.

At this point, he said, the authorities were investigating who the buyer of the scrap metal was.

“The department is also investigating how long the ship had operated in Malaysian waters illegally and whether it had looted other areas besides Penang.”

The official said the department was investigating if the vessel had plundered other ships, both commercial and military, off the east and west coast of Malaysia.

The Star reported yesterday that illegal salvagers had plundered scrap metal from at least five shipwrecks, including two Japanese World War II vessels, off Penang waters since early this year and their activities had gone undetected by the authorities.

The unscrupulous salvagers were believed to have “cleared up” at least two wrecks – the Japanese gunboat Chosa Maru, called Kapal Jepun by locals, which sunk in August 1943, and Japanese light cruiser Kuma that went down on January 1944 – and had taken away metal worth millions.

The other three wrecks that are being salvaged are Japanese warship Haguro, Kapal Taiwan and Kapal Simen, which are all located off Kendi Island.

今月４日、全羅南道麗水市（チョンラナムド・ヨスシ）の巨文島（コムンド）から南東３４カイリ（約６３キロ）の公海上。北朝鮮船員１６人が乗ったモンゴル国籍の４３００トン級貨物船「グランドフォーチュン１号」が沈没した。

韓国の海洋警察は救助活動を行って５人を救助したが、２人は死亡し、追加捜索を行って１人の遺体を引き揚げた。救助された３人と遺体３体は板門店（パンムンジョム）を経由して北朝鮮に送った。海洋警察や麗水警察署などによれば、沈没した船は北朝鮮の清津（チョンジン）港から出発して中国揚州市近隣の江都港へ向けて航海中だった。重油５０トンや鉄鉱石などが載っていた。韓国政府は１４日、最後の遺体１体を北朝鮮に引き渡した。

グランドフォーチュン１号は海がない内陸国、モンゴル国籍の船だった。船主は香港にある会社だった。海洋水産部などは船主が「便宜置籍」の一環としてモンゴルに船を登録して賃金が安い北朝鮮船員を雇用し、貨物事業を展開していたと推測した。

便宜置籍は、自国船員の義務雇用比率を避けて税金節約のために他国に船を登録することをいう。それ自体は違法ではない。パナマやリベリア国籍の船が多いのは便宜置籍が多い国だからだ。

モンゴルは内陸国だが２００３年から船舶登録局を開設して他国の船の登録を受けている。船舶登録を受けて税金を集めて海運産業を育成するためだ。ウィキリークスが２００７年に公開した米国大使館の資料によれば、モンゴルには２８３隻が登録されている。船の主人の国籍はシンガポール（９１隻）、パナマ（２２隻）、マレーシア（２２隻）、香港（１２隻）などだった。船主が国籍不明な船も３９隻あった。

北朝鮮が香港会社を代理船主として前面に出し、モンゴルに船を登録した可能性を見せている部分だ。外交部関係者は「今回のグランドフォーチュン号は、韓国領海ではない公海上で発見されたので対北朝鮮制裁決議にともなう船舶の捜索や調査を行えなかった」として「すぐに目についた重油や鉄鉱石のほかに、どんな物があったのかは確認できなかった」と話した。

先月出てきた国連安保理の対北朝鮮制裁の専門家パネル報告書によれば、国籍は北朝鮮ではないが実際は北朝鮮の船と疑われるものが最低８隻以上だった。このうちスンリ２号、グンザリ号、クァンミョン号の３隻は、今回発見されたグランドフォーチュン１号のようにモンゴルに登録されている。他国の国籍を持っており、船主は香港人である船も１隻あった。

国連対北朝鮮制裁の専門家パネルは報告書を通じて「安保理の対北朝鮮制裁決議２０９４号（２０１３年）が発効された後、北朝鮮は船舶を再登録したり国籍を変更したりして制裁を避けようとする可能性が高い」と指摘した。実際に北朝鮮は昨年だけで４隻の船をカンボジア・トーゴなどに国籍を変更した。

このような前例もある。２０１１年５月、北朝鮮の南浦港（ナムポハン）からミサイル武器などと推定される部品を載せてミャンマーへ向かった「ライト」号は、米国海軍の追撃を受けると公海上にとどまって回航した。ライト号は２００６年まで「ブヨン１号」という名前を使う北朝鮮国籍の船舶だったが、北朝鮮核実験後に対北制裁が激しくなると名前を「ライト」に変えて国籍も中米のベリーズに変更して運行した。「ライト」号は米国の取り締まりがあってから２カ月後、アフリカのシエラレオネで国籍を変えて船の名前も「ビクトリー３号」に変更した。国連の対北朝鮮制裁の専門家パネルは、国籍を「洗浄」した北朝鮮の船が１９隻以上に上ると推定している。

捜査が終了するにどのような事実が出てくるのか？悪質な会社ほど事故が起きると検査会社の責任にするか、 検査に合格している事を強調する。検査会社に責任がある場合もあるので何とも言えないが、運が悪ければ旅客船「セウォル号」のような事故は起きても不思議ではない。

By FOSTER KLUG and YOUKYUNG LEE
The Associated Press
MOKPO, South Korea - Fresh questions arose about whether quicker action by the captain of a doomed ferry could have saved lives, even as rescuers scrambled to find hundreds of passengers still missing Friday and feared dead.

Officials also offered a rare look at their investigations, saying they were looking into whether a crewman's order to abruptly turn the ship contributed to the 6,852-ton Sewol ferry tilting severely to the side and filling with water Wednesday.

The confirmed death toll from Wednesday's sinking off southern South Korea was 28, the coast guard said. Most of bodies have been found floating in the ocean because divers have been continually prevented from getting inside the ship by strong currents and bad weather. But 48 hours after the sinking the number of deaths was expected to rise sharply with about 270 people missing, many of them high school students on a class trip. Officials said there were 179 survivors.

New questions were raised by a transcript of a ship-to-shore exchange and interviews by The Associated Press that showed the captain delayed evacuation for half an hour after a South Korean transportation official ordered preparations to abandon ship.

The order at 9 a.m. by an unidentified official at the Jeju Vessel Traffic Services Center to put on lifejackets and prepare for evacuation came just five minutes after a Wednesday morning distress call by the Sewol ferry. A crewmember on the ferry, which was bound for Jeju island, replied that "it's hard for people to move."

The ship made a sharp turn between 8:48 a.m. and 8:49 a.m. Korea time, but it's not known whether the turn was made voluntarily or because of some external factor, Nam Jae-heon, a director for public relations at the Maritime Ministry, said Friday.

The captain has not spoken publicly about his decision making, and officials aren't talking much about their investigation, which includes continued talks with the captain and crew. But the new details about communication between the bridge and transportation officials follow a revelation by a crewmember in an interview with The Associated Press that the captain's eventual evacuation order came at least half an hour after the 9 a.m. distress signal.

Meanwhile, strong currents and rain made rescue attempts difficult again as they entered a third day. Divers worked in shifts to try to get into the sunken vessel, where most of the missing passengers are thought to be, said coast guard spokesman Kim Jae-in. Coast guard officials said divers began pumping air into the ship Friday, but it wasn't immediately clear if the air was for survivors or for a salvage operation. Officials said in a statement that divers were still trying to enter the ship.

South Korean officials also offered a glimpse into their investigation of what may have led to the sinking. They said the accident happened at a point where the ferry from Incheon to Jeju had to make a turn. Prosecutor Park Jae-eok said in a briefing that investigators were looking at whether the third mate ordered a turn whose degree was so sharp that it caused the ship to list. The captain was not on the bridge at the time, Park said, adding that officials were looking at other possible causes, too.

Park also said crews' testimonies differed about where the captain was when the ship started listing. As that listing continued, the captain was "near" the bridge, Park said, but he couldn't say whether the captain was inside or right outside the bridge. The operator of the ferry added more cabin rooms to three floors after its purchase the ship, which was built in Japan in 1994, an official at the private Korean Register of Shipping told the AP on Friday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not allowed to discuss matters under investigation, said the extension work between October 2012 and February 2013 increased the Sewol's weight by 187 tons and added enough room for 117 more people. The Sewol had a capacity of 921 when it sank.

As is common in South Korea, the ship's owner, Chonghaejin Marine Co. Ltd, paid for a safety check by the Korean Register of Shipping, the official said, which found that the Sewol passed all safety tests, including whether the ship could stabilize in the event of tilting to the right or to the left after adding more weight.

Ian Winkle, a British naval architect and ferry expert said many ships have such modifications, to increase capacity, for instance. "In this particular case, it would have affected the stability by a small amount, but as it seems from the structure of the vessel, generally, it looks as if it was adequate to meet statutory regulations," Winkle said.

Near the site of the ferry, angry and bewildered relatives gathered on a nearby island watched the rescue attempts. Some held a Buddhist prayer ritual, crying and praying for their relatives' safe return.

"I want to jump into the water with them," said Park Geum-san, 59, the great-aunt of another missing student, Park Ye-ji. "My loved one is under the water and it's raining. Anger is not enough."

Kim, the coast guard spokesman, said two vessels with cranes arrived and would help with the rescue and to salvage the ferry, which sank not far from the southern city of Mokpo. But salvage operations hadn't started yet because of the rescue attempts. Out of 29 crewmembers, 20 people, including the captain, Lee Joon-seok, 68, survived, the coast guard said. The captain made a brief, videotaped appearance, although his face was hidden by a gray hoodie. "I am really sorry and deeply ashamed," Lee said. "I don't know what to say."

Kim Soo-hyun, a senior coast guard official, said officials were investigating whether the captain got on one of the first rescue boats. The 146-meter (480-foot) Sewol had left Incheon on the northwestern coast of South Korea on Tuesday for the overnight journey to the southern resort island of Jeju. There were 475 people aboard, including 325 students from Danwon High School in Ansan, which is near Seoul, It was three hours from its destination Wednesday morning when it began to list for an unknown reason.

Oh Yong-seok, a helmsman on the ferry with 10 years of shipping experience, said that when the crew gathered on the bridge and sent a distress call, the ship was already listing more than 5 degrees, the critical angle at which a vessel can be brought back to even keel. The first instructions from the captain were for passengers to put on life jackets and stay where they were, Oh said. A third mate reported that the ship could not be righted, and the captain ordered another attempt, which also failed, Oh said. A crew member then tried to reach a lifeboat but fell because the vessel was tilting, prompting the first mate to suggest to the captain that he order an evacuation, Oh said.

About 30 minutes after passengers were told to stay in place, the captain finally gave the order to evacuate, Oh said, adding that he wasn't sure in the confusion and chaos on the bridge if the order was relayed to the passengers. Several survivors told the AP that they never heard any evacuation order.

By then, it was impossible for crew members to move to passengers' rooms to help them because the ship was tilted at an impossibly acute angle, he said. The delay in evacuation also likely prevented lifeboats from being deployed. "We couldn't even move one step. The slope was too big," said Oh, who escaped with about a dozen others, including the captain.

The last major ferry disaster in South Korea was in 1993, when 292 people were killed. Klug reported from Seoul. Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim in Ansan and Jung-yoon Choi in Seoul contributed to this report.

伊豆大島沖で第１８栄福丸と衝突事故を起こし、
係留されている貨物船「ジィア・フイ」＝１月７日、
静岡市の清水港で、本社ヘリ「あさづる」から

◆中国人当直責任者　１４日判決

　昨年九月に東京・伊豆大島沖で貨物船同士が衝突し、名古屋市の海運会社が所有する「第１８栄福丸」の乗組員六人が死亡した事故で、相手方の「ＪＩＡ　ＨＵＩ」（ジィア・フイ）の中国の船主側が栄福丸の船体補償交渉に応じない状況が続いている。事故当時のジィア・フイの当直責任者で、業務上過失致死罪などに問われた中国籍の夏紅波被告（３６）の十四日の判決に執行猶予が付けば釈放になる。栄福丸関係者から、判決後のさらなる停滞を懸念する声があがる。

　焼津市の高井智昭さん＝当時（４０）＝ら乗組員六人への遺族補償では、ジィア・フイ側の保険会社が最大五億三千八百万円を提示したとされる。先月の静岡地裁沼津支部の公判で夏被告側が明らかにした。栄福丸を所有する丸仲海運（名古屋市港区）の杉下吉利社長（６４）は「具体的な交渉はまだのようだ」と話す。遺族の一人は、公判で提示額を初めて知ったほどで「船主側に誠意ある対応がみられず、夏被告が中国に帰ると話が停滞するのではないか」と気をもむ。

　ジィア・フイの船主側との間では船体などの補償も滞っている。栄福丸は船体だけで損失は四億九千万円。積み荷や逸失利益などを合わせると損失は十億円を超えるという。丸仲海運には損保会社から保険金が支払われたが、沈没した栄福丸が稼働できなくなったことによる逸失利益は対象外で、毎月千三百万円の損失が出ている。

　ジィア・フイの船主側からは、今も謝罪の電話さえなく、中国の保険会社は、国外での操船免許を持たない夏被告が当直責任者だったことが免責に当たると主張。交渉に入れない状態が続く。損失をわずかでも回収したい栄福丸側は昨年十二月、静岡地裁にジィア・フイの差し押さえを申し立てたが、地裁の決定はまだ出ていない。

　丸仲海運に保険金を払った損保会社は先月二十日、夏被告に一億円の損害賠償を求める裁判を起こした。夏被告の過失で事故は起きたとして、船価の一部を請求している。

　この訴訟で、賠償命令が出ても日本の判決は中国国内での効力はない。賠償金を得られる見込みは低いが、夏被告を雇う船主側にも責任があると示し、交渉のテーブルにつかせるのが狙い。代理人は「交渉が進まないなら雇用会社側などを相手に中国で提訴するのも選択肢だ」と話した。

（斉藤明彦）

韓国のITFコーディネーター、キム・ヘキョン(金 恵璟)

　ITFは2009年4月、韓国の平澤(ピョンテク)港の船舶から連絡を受けた。この船の乗組員の１人が、本船には食料も飲料水もない、と連絡してきた。中国・大連の船主、オリエンタル・デベロプメント社からの連絡が途絶えており、乗組員は賃金も受け取っていなかった。

　この船は、貨物が損傷していたため、第三者により、3月に差し押さえられていた。

　ITFは、船主と連絡を取ろうとしたが、成功しなかった。ソウルの中国大使館は、韓国によって本船が差し押さえられているため、未払い賃金、食料、飲料水の供給など、全ての問題は韓国側が処理すべきである、と支援を拒否した。

　インスペクターは乗組員を訪問し、未払い賃金および帰国旅費に関する法的手続きを開始した。同時に、キム・ヘキョンITFコーディネーターは、ITF海事活動部門に連絡するとともに、問題解決のため、中国大使館と話し合った。

　ITFと会うことを船主は遂に受け入れたが、問題の解決には同意しなかった。彼らの主要な関心事は乗組員ではなく、船舶にあった。彼らは、食料と飲料水の供給を拒否し、乗組員と会うことさえ拒否した。

　乗組員は飢えに瀕している、とITFに伝えられたため、韓国の組合が250米ドル相当の食糧と飲料水を提供した。船主は、数回にわたり韓国を訪問していたにもかかわらず、何の措置も支援も提供しなかった。そのため、韓国のインスペクターは、法的手続きの決着を待たずに、船員たちを帰国させることとした。

　韓国海員労組連盟(FKSU)のバン・ドンシク委員長と乗組員の話合いの中で、ITFは9人の乗組員の帰国旅費を負担することに同意した。9人のうちの7人は帰国することを決めたが、船長と機関員は船内に残った。未払い賃金を手にするのは容易ではないと思われるが、ITFは現在、法的措置の結果を待っている。

Tom Seaman

An ongoing legal process brought against Dongwon Industries by a woman widowed by the June 2010 sinking of purse seiner Majestic Blue is the origin of latest fraud allegations against the South Korean company, owner of US brand Starkist.

Dongwon is accused, in an amended claim filed on Jan. 10 in the US district court for Delaware, of using straw companies to control Majestic Blue and another seiner, Pacific Breeze, to gain access to fishing licenses for which only US citizens are eligible.

Pacific Breeze and Majestic Blue were registered in South Korea prior to 2008 and named Eastern Kim and Costa de Marfil, respectively, which would have excluded them from licensing eligibility, the claim document states.

The allegations contained in the claim, from law firm Moore & Company, are linked to two separate ongoing legal processes around the sinking of Pacific Breeze and the death of its skipper, David Hill.

This was referenced in a statement sent to Undercurrent News from Dongwon on Tuesday.

Moore & Company “is currently representing a client in ongoing, related litigation against Dongwon”, reads the statement from the tuna giant. “The allegations made by the Moore law firm are meritless, and intends to vigorously defend itself in this matter, including seeking a full dismissal of the action”.

The legal action referred to by Dongwon is the lawsuit filed in October 2010 by Amy Hill, the widow of David, alleging wrongful death. Moore are seeking at least $5 million in damages.

On Nov. 5, 2010, Majestic Blue was served with a copy of the summons and complaint, then, on Dec. 9, 2010, filed the instant action seeking limitation of its liability for the claim.

Both legal processes are ongoing.

Moore has “contested Majestic Blue Fisheries’ right to limit its liability for the sinking”, Blair Brogan, of the law firm, told Undercurrent. “The court is currently making its decision on whether Majestic Blue is entitled to limit its liability, all papers and arguments having been submitted.”

In the wrongful death lawsuit, the defendants are Majestic Blue Fisheries LLC and Dongwon, which it is alleged controlled Majestic Blue.

“The wrongful death action, against both Majestic Blue and Dongwon, is currently stayed pending the court’s decision in the limitation action,” Brogan said.

If the ship owner were entitled to limit its liability in this particular case, liability would be limited to the remaining value of the vessel, nothing, the vessel’s equipment and appurtenances ($33,500), and any pending freight, also nothing, said Brogan.

“Thus, the owner would be able to limit its liability to $35,000 in the wrongful death action,” she said.

‘State of the art’ seiner

On Oct. 13, 2009, Hill entered into an employment contract to act as the skipper of Majestic Blue, which was represented “state of the art purse seiner that was 100% owned by United States citizens and “proudly” flew the US flag”, states the claim document from Moore, on behalf of Hill.

Hill’s contract was for three months onboard, followed by a three-month vacation period, after which time his contract contemplated that he would return for another three-month period on board.

Hill was began his second term as captain of the vessel in May 2010, immediately following a maintenance period in a Chinese shipyard. He relieved the former captain, another US national named Thomas Ridenour.

Ridenour directly observed the work done to the vessel in the Chinese shipyard, states the claim document.

According to Ridenour, the vessel had not been well repaired and the work done by the Chinese yard was below industry standard.

Ridenour observed, the document states, that the combination of Dongwon and Majestic Blue not allowing the Chinese shipyard sufficient time, a lack of planning, lack of communication, lack of coordination, and poor quality of work by the Chinese shipyard had caused serious problems for Majestic Blue.

Ridenour observed the vessel would not be able to pass any sort of detailed inspection and doubted any United States Coast Guard inspector would pass it, it is alleged.

Ridenour also commented that he would not work for the company again and that he was “personally ashamed” to have his name linked with the dry-docking of the vessel in China, the document states.

Around May 9, 2010, at the very end of the dry dock period, Hill arrived in Guam to meet the Majestic Blue and relieve Ridenour.

Hill was the only US national and was one of very few people on the vessel who spoke English. Dongwon or Majestic Blue did not provide a translator, “even though it was standard practice on other similar vessels” and despite previous captains having requesting translators, the claim alleges.

All of the officers on the vessel, aside from Hill, were Korean nationals and all of the remaining crew were either Korean nationals or nationals from other Southeast Asian countries, it claims.

The fishing master on the vessel “acted as the de facto captain” and yet was allegedly unqualified for the position. “For instance, when leaving the port of Guam the fishing master went the wrong direction and the vessel was forced to turn back to rejoin the rest of the purse seiner fleet”, the document states.

It goes on to state that the US national captains hired by Dongwon and Majestic Blue “were “window dressing”, brought onboard to meet the crewing requirements of the US vessel registry and not to command the Korean-operated, managed and de facto owned purse seiner.

The Korean “fishing master” was the actual master and captain of the vessel and was, along with the Korean officers, tacitly or in fact authorized by Dongwon and Majestic Blue to ignore the orders of the US captain, Hill’s claim states.

A former skipper of the vessel, Douglas Pine, sued Dongwon and Majestic Blue in April 2010, alleging mutiny, abuse by the crew and pollution violations.

Dongwon and Majestic Blue “also made no effort to correct the shoddy, rushed and low quality ‘repairs’” to the vessel, despite having knowledge of the problems through Ridenour, who admitted it would be unable to pass any sort of detailed inspection, it is alleged.

Around May 20, 2010, Hill and the vessel departed the US territory of Guam to commence a fishing expedition.

The vessel began taking on water around June 13, 2010, in what the claims states were “calm seas and good weather”.

Of the 24 crewmembers on board at the time, 22 abandoned ship and were later rescued by another purse seiner, Pacific Breeze, the other vessel that is the subject of the license fraud allegations against Dongwon and Majestic Blue.

Hill and the chief engineer remained “or were either negligently or intentionally left onboard the sinking vessel, which at some point rolled on its side and sank to the bottom of the Western Pacific Ocean”.

After two days of search and rescue by the United States Coast Guard and certain vessels of the purse seiner fleet, neither the chief engineer nor Hill were found, having drowned with the vessel.

The family of the Chief Engineer, Chang Cheol Yang, filed a lawsuit against Dongwon and Majestic Blue for compensation for his wrongful death on June 11, 2013. This process is also ongoing.

Subsequent to the sinking, it is alleged the defendants retained certain of Hill’s personal effects -- including the personal laptop he carried with him through his tour.

This was kept for nearly two months until they were finally returned to his wife, after repeated calls for their return by her attorneys.

In this time, it is alleged the defendant’s accessed the personal computer of Hill and viewed “intimate correspondences” and emails between the married couple. “The invasion was a gross invasion of privacy into an area any reasonable person would deem private from public gaze and was totally unwarranted,” the claim alleges.

When a memorial service was held for Hill, “without prompting or invitation”, Dongwon and Majestic Blue sent two employees. In addition, agents of the company have Amy Hill with any information regarding her husband’s death, the document states.

Hill ‘responsible for own death’

In its response, filed on May 15, 2013, Dongwon states it was not Hill’s employer and, therefore it cannot be held responsible for the claims presented under the doctrine of un-seaworthiness.

“Dongwon did not own, operate, manage or charter the subject vessel and, therefore cannot be charged with liability attributable and/or flowing from ownership,” it states.

According to the document, “Hill failed to follow lawful orders to evacuate the Majestic Blue and his failure to do so caused his death”.

The sinking and Hill’s “death occurred due to the natural action of wind and wave for which Dongwon has no responsibility”.

He also failed to properly utilize the vessel’s bilge pumps, alarms, communications equipment, life rafts and other safety measures at the time of the sinking, it alleges.

In addition, Hill failed and refused to accept the assistance and instruction of the other crewmembers and his failure solely caused “and/or contributed” to his death.

He was not instructed or directed to remain onboard the vessel, “nor was it necessary for him to remain onboard once all crewmembers had abandoned ship and were disembarked”, states Dongwon’s defense.

Hill “recklessly and/or negligently and/or intentionally remained onboard in open and obviously unsafe conditions without notice of any kind to Dongwon and without the use of safety equipment”, and was “responsible for his own death in that his normal faculties were impaired”.

He also “failed to maintain a seaworthy vessel”, Dongwon claims.

平成21年6月、長崎海上保安部は、管下の各港における放置船舶の状況調査及び所有者の割り出 しを行い、長崎県からの再三にわたる撤去指導に応じず合計19隻の廃船を不法に放置又は投棄し ていた中古船ブローカー等3名を漁港漁場整備法違反（禁止行為）及び海洋汚染等及び海上災害の 防止に関する法律違反（廃船の不法投棄）の容疑で検挙しました。

　名古屋海上保安部は、船舶代理店取締役が通報する国際航海・港湾保安法に基づく船舶保安情 報（事前通報）について、通報時点における船舶の位置が不正確であることが多かったことから 、同取締役に対し適正な通報を実施するよう、その都度指導していたにもかかわらず、平成20年1 0月に韓国から名古屋港に入港したツバル籍貨物船（1,845トン）の入港に際し通報時点における 船舶の位置、本邦の港に入港する直前の寄港に関する事項等、事実と異なる船舶保安情報を名古 屋海上保安部に通報したことから、同取締役及び当該船舶代理店を同法違反で検挙しました。