A 68-metre, 5000hp factory trawler under the flag of Vanuatu has been intercepted inside the Argentinean EEZ. The Chinese-owned XinRun 579 is one of a group of practically new trawlers operating for the first time in the South Atlantic.
According to a number of sources, including NGO Círculo de Políticas Ambientales, XinRun 579 was intercepted inside the EEZ and is part of the extensive fleet operating in FAO area 41 outside Mile 201. The trawler was observed for some hours inside the EEZ at a speed of less than six knots, which constitutes a presumption of fishing activity under Argentinean regulations.
An Argentinean Coast Guard vessel informed XinRun 579’s skipper of the infraction and of the subsequent process.
XinRun 579 appears to have sailed from Shidao in China in December. Its flag-of-convenience registration makes establishing the vessel’s ownership problematic, but sources in South America confirm that this is just one of a group of similar vessels – XinRun 179, 579, 679, 779, 879, 979 – with linked names and registered to the same Vanuatu company, operating in FAO Area 41 for the first time, and all delivered as newbuilds in the last quarter of 2024.
