Vanuatu is taking a tougher line on vessels linked to illegal fishing, and three trawlers fined for incursions in the Argentinian EEZ have been deregistered by the Vanuatu International Shipping Registry.
This follows the record $900,000 fine recently imposed on Bao Feng by the Argentinian authorities when the trawler was identified operating inside mile-200 earlier this year.
Along with Bao Feng, the Vanuatu International Shipping Registry has also deregistered Hai Xing 2 and Bao Win. These Chinese-owned vessels had been given approval for registration in June 2024 by the Vanuatu Fisheries Department.
According to campaigner Milko Schvartzman, who has been tracking the activities of the fleet operating in international waters and along the edge of Aregntina’s EEZ, these trawlers are part of the Hai Shun Shipping Co. fleet, and all three have been detected illegally fishing inside Argentina EEZ under the new zero tolerance policy using electronic monitoring and AIS data.
‘Vanuatu’s International Shipping Registry has now confirmed it is removing these three vessels from its registry. For more than a year, I have been tracking and publicly exposing the fleet of at least 17 Chinese-origin vessels operating along the edge and inside Argentina’s EEZ,’ he said.
‘This is a strong step forward in the fight against IUU fishing and flags of convenience.’
