A Chinese ship without the respective satellite device for tracking was reported by fishermen from the Port of Chimbote last April 18, in the Ancash region.
This vessel, according to the fishermen, would be sailing very close to the facilities of the Servicios Industriales de la Marina shipyard, known as SIMA Chimbote, a Peruvian government company dedicated to the maintenance of fishing vessels.
The fishermen, who saw their work affected, quickly photographed the incident and shared it on social networks. Immediately this unusual fact went viral and became public knowledge.
This allowed the identification of the Chinese ship JIN HAI 728, with a hold capacity of 500 cubic meters and a length of 45 meters, belonging to the Zhoushan Jin Hai Ocean Fishery company.
This is dedicated to squid fishing on the high seas thanks to an authorization granted by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO-PS), of which Peru is also a member.
It is not the first time that this boat has made headlines. The renowned American journalist Ian Urbina, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, came across this vessel while doing his series of reports The Outlaw Ocean Project for the prestigious The New York Times.
Urbina had the opportunity to document and communicate to the world that the ship, which today could be found inside the shipyard owned by the Peruvian State, was captured on video in 2019 while its crew placed a dying Indonesian crew member in a coffin, instead to provide him with due assistance.
Chinese boats fishing in the Peruvian sea
The president of the Association of Artisanal Fishermen and Shipowners of Caleta de Parachique in Sechura, Henry Juárez, who has also spent years documenting apparently illegal entries of Chinese vessels into the Peruvian sea, explains that, in the past, these vessels turned off their satellite equipment to entering Peru to fish illegally.
“As these incursions were a global scandal thanks to our complaints, the government was forced to issue Supreme Decree No. 016-2020-PRODUCE, establishing that every foreign ship that operates on squid in international waters must install satellite tracking from the Peruvian government. if you want to use the maintenance services that the government itself offers,” he recalled.
This regulation, according to Juárez, allowed vessels that did not want to submit to the new standard of monitoring, control and surveillance not to enter Peruvian ports. Thus, given the Chinese operators’ refusal to install the satellite device, income to Peru went from an average of 180 Chinese ships per year to only a handful of vessels.
“Practically these vessels did not enter during 2021 and 2022; until, in May of last year, after the visit of the Chinese Ambassador to the former vice minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Desilú León [hoy secretaria general del Ministerio de la Producción]Chinese vessels began to enter again without using the satellite device.”
Juárez stated that “the regulations that protected our sea have been repealed. Only, conveniently, they have forgotten to publish it in the Official Gazette El Peruano.” To date, the Minister of Production, Sergio González Guerrero, has not commented on this issue.
Chinese ship was due to enter to change crew
However, the General Directorate of Supervision, Inspection and Sanction has communicated through a memorandum that the vessel in question has been in the Port of Chimbote since April 4 and that it has entered Peru without using the satellite device required by law.
Furthermore, she entered stating that the reason for her presence in Peru was related to the need to change crew.
According to the public access portal Global Fishing Watch, said vessel had stopped transmitting its coordinates, a fact that made it difficult to track its position in the last 14 days until it was reported by the fishermen.
“Not even the most inefficient crew change takes more than two weeks, nor are these types of operations carried out inside the dry dock of a shipyard. Clearly here there is a desire to provide facilities to allow the irregular entry of this vessel,” said Juárez.
Source: Larepublica

Alia is a professional author and journalist, working at 247 news agency. She writes on various topics from economy news to general interest pieces, providing readers with relevant and informative content. With years of experience, she brings a unique perspective and in-depth analysis to her work.