Massive and Systematic Exploitation of Two Foreign Ships in Arafura

Acting Director General of Marine and Fisheries Resource Surveillance (PSDKP) at the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), Pung Nugroho Saksono, stated in Jakarta on Thursday (18/4/2024) that the entry of two illegal foreign vessels into the Fishing Management Area (WPP NRI) 718 Arafura Sea has been going on for several months. His team is continuing to investigate the syndication of foreign-national vessels involved in fisheries crime and is pursuing the perpetrators of those foreign vessels.

Also read: Foreign Ship Carrying 150 Tons of Subsidized Fuel and Enslaving 55 Indonesian Citizens

Pung, who leads the operation to capture illegal fishing vessels, added that Indonesian fishing boats were suspected of assisting the two foreign ships in committing fisheries crimes by smuggling suspected subsidized fuel and supplying Indonesian crew members to foreign ships.

From the results of the KKP inspection, the Indonesian fishing vessel, KM Mitra Utama Semesta (MUS), which weighs 289 gross tons (GT), is indicated to have received 100 tons of transshipped fish ( transshipment)from two illegal foreign vessels, namely Run Zeng (RZ) 03 and RZ 05. A total of 100 tons of fish were allegedly the result of fishing theft in Indonesian waters for five days with types of fish including sea ​​bream, red snapper and white snapper.

It is suspected that the KM MUS has supplied subsidized solar fuel to foreign ships RZ 03 and RZ 05 in the middle of the sea. The KM MUS was found with solar fuel stored in the fish holds. From the examination of the ship's manual book records in the helm room, it was recorded that 870 drums or 150 tons of solar fuel were transported, some of which had been supplied to the two foreign ships and some of its partner ships, leaving 9 tons in the holds.

"It is suspected that these two foreign ships have been operating for quite a long time and have loaded Indonesian ships several times. The method is that the Indonesian ship transfers diesel fuel from the hold to the foreign ship. The hatch was then cleaned to accommodate the stolen fish. "You can imagine the losses caused by this crime," explained Pung.

As an illustration, the catch from RZ 03 and 05 vessels recorded 100 tons of fish in five days. If the fish price is assumed to be Rp 15,000 per kilogram, the value of fish obtained in each capture operation is Rp 1.5 billion. Every month, the value of the stolen fish in Indonesian waters can reach up to Rp 9 billion.

Sanusi Muhammad, one of the crew members of a foreign ship who fled from the RZ 03 ship, stated that when he boarded the RZ 03 ship, there were already dozens of Indonesian crew members working there. Some of the old crew members were sent back and replaced by him and a new group of crew members.

The Orca 6 ship belonging to the PSDKP KKP captured the KM MUS ship on April 14 2024 in the Arafura Sea, Maluku, at coordinates 05° 30.422" LS-133° 59.005" BT. The arrest was based on public reports regarding indications of transshipment of fish from foreign fishing vessels, namely KM RZ 03 and RZ 05.

Alleged corruption

Based on information gathered by Kompas, ships RZ 03 and RZ 05 have docked at several ports, such as Teluk Palabuhanratu, Sukabumi, and Ambon. The Mitra Nelayan Sejahtera fishermen's association operating in WPP 718, in a letter sent to the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in mid-April 2024, conveyed suspicions that RZ 05 had stopped at Ambon Port. At the end of February 2024, a ship identical to RZ 05 was also seen in the eastern waters of Pulau Penambulai, one of the outermost islands in the Maluku Islands.

Quoted from vesselfinder.com, the ships RZ 05 and RZ 03 are recorded to have a weight of 870 GT. According to marinetraffic.com, ship RZ 05 was recorded to have been in the Banda Sea in February 2024.

Manager of Human Rights at Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW) Indonesia, Miftahul Choir stated that dozens of Indonesian crew members were suspected to be still on board the two foreign ships. His party urges the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries and the Navy to work together to pursue the foreign ships RZ 03 and RZ 05.

We suspect the involvement of certain parties who protect and provide access to foreign ships, enabling them to operate and collaborate with domestic fisheries.

DFW also requested the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to inspect fishing vessels suspected of carrying subsidized fuel, as well as to conduct regular checks on the working conditions and equipment of the fishing crew.

"Law enforcement authorities need to make serious efforts in law enforcement by thoroughly investigating parties involved in fisheries crimes, such as fish smuggling, illegal subsidized fuel trade, and slavery, which harm Indonesian citizens," said Miftahul.

Miftah added that they believe this series of fisheries crimes is not detached from more systematic corruption practices. The RZ 03 and RZ 05 ships have been traced and pursued by PSDKP since early March 2023. In 2023, there was also a similar case involving RZ in Sukabumi.

Ships RZ 03 and RZ 05 are alleged to have avoided authorities and fled to the waters of Papua Niuguni. In early March 2024, the two illegal foreign ships approached and entered Arafura, and interacted with Indonesian vessels to sell fish, buy fuel, and search for crew members.

"We suspect the existence of certain parties who protect and provide access to foreign ships so that they dare to operate and cooperate with domestic fisheries," he said.

Food threat

Illegal fishing, unreported and unregulated (IUU Fishing), which is also categorized as transnational organized crime, has become a major driver from the depletion of marine resources which threatens world food security. This practice also affects the sense of justice for fisheries business actors who have always complied with regulations.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) notes that the production of fish from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing reaches 26 million tons per year. The value of the fish caught by IUU fishing methods is estimated at 10-23 billion US dollars. The practice of IUU fishing occurs in both international waters and a country's territorial seas, which has a negative impact on coastal communities.

Several forms of IUU fishing include fishing without permission, violating fishing area boundaries, excessive fishing, and the use of illegal fishing gear that damages the ecosystem. This act of illegal fishing also often intersects with modern slavery practices and human rights violations.

Also read: Slavery on Foreign Fishing Ships

In December 2023, the independent organization Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (ATOC) and the Poseidon Fisheries and Marine Environment Research Institute published a report on the IUU Fishing Risk Index. In the report, Indonesia ranked 6th among 152 countries with the worst performance in terms of vulnerability to IUU Fishing. This poor performance is behind China, Russia, Yemen, India, and Iran.

Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, in his Ministerial Lecture at Gadjah Mada University on March 6 2024, revealed that the practice of IUU fishing and overfishing is still a challenge in the marine and fisheries sector. Trenggono indicated that the estimated losses due to illegal fishing practices in Indonesia reached 4 billion US dollars per year.