Ship loses potentially dangerous cargo in North Sea: Coastguard

Yahoo – AFP, January 2, 2019

Ship loses potentially dangerous cargo in North Sea: Coastguard

The Hague (AFP) - A cargo ship caught in rough North Sea weather lost at least 270 containers, including four holding potentially dangerous substances, the Dutch and German coastguards said Wednesday.

The Panama-registered MSC Zoe shed the containers containing mostly toys, furniture and auto spare parts while battling a storm off the Frisian Islands, an archipelago off the northwestern Dutch coast also known as the Wadden Islands.

The Dutch coastguard tweeted that three of the containers contained, in powder form, highly flammable, potentially dangerous organic peroxides used in making plastics which can cause irritation if breathed in.

German coastguard sources said they had located one container holding organic peroxide among six containers that reached the country's coastline.

They also warned the public not to touch the containers if found, but to call police or the fire brigade.

The Dutch coastguard, which said the containers went overboard not far from the German island of Borkum, added they did not have information about the content of cargo beyond that of the 20 or so containers which washed up on the islands.

Dutch broadcaster NOS showed local people around one of the containers and pictured toys and other materials strewn across beaches as well as one man carrying off a flat screen television.

A Dutch coastguard spokesman told NOS it was likely the containers holding the peroxides had sunk.

A Dutch coastguard plane was due to undertake a new search on Thursday morning while strong winds were hampering the MSC Zoe's own attempts to carry out an inventory.

The mayor of Terschelling island, where some of the cargo washed ashore, told NOS he expected it would take several days to clear the beach of stray items from the containers.

The 2015-built MSC Zoe, which was headed to the northern German port of Bremerhaven, is one of the world's largest container vessels at 396 metres (1300 feet) long and 59 metres wide.

Photo: Kustwacht

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Photos show chaos on container ship as Dutch beach clean-up begins

The Dutch military joined beach clean-up efforts, two days after some 270 shipping containers tumbled from one of the world's biggest cargo boats into the North Sea in stormy weather https://t.co/GS6IPT8Pqz

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 4, 2019

Wil je straks helpen met #helpwad #CleanupWadden #OpruimActie na de #containerramp met #MSCZoe? In dit kaartje zijn we allerlei plekken aan het verzamelen waar je aan de slag kunt. https://t.co/oTwfqwbJ55

Aanvullingen / aanpassingen? Geef maar door.

Delen / embedden: feel free

— Ritzo ten Cate (@ritzotencate) January 5, 2019

Colombia puts Chinese ship captain under house arrest

Yahoo – AFP, March 9, 2015.

Colombia puts Chinese ship captain under house arrest

Bogota (AFP) - A judge has ordered house arrest for the Chinese captain of a freighter Colombia stopped in port for carrying unregistered Cuba-bound weapons and materiel, a prosecutor said Sunday.

Wu Hong will remain in Cartagena, monitored by authorities, while waiting for the investigation into the cargo to be completed, the prosecutor said.

The Hong Kong-registered Da Dan Xia, which has been held for a week, was loaded with undeclared military equipment including about 100 tonnes of gunpowder, 99 projectile bases and 3,000 artillery cartridge cases, according to Colombian authorities.

Colombian prosecutor Luis Gonzalez Leon has said Wu will be charged with weapons trafficking.

The freighter was due to stop in the northern Colombian city of Barranquilla before ending its journey in Havana.

The ship's documentation "conflicted with what was actually found" aboard the vessel, a Colombian prosecutor said.

But Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying maintained that the Da Dan Xia was operating within Chinese and international law.

A North Korean cargo ship, Chong Chon Gang, was found to be carrying Cuban weapons including surface-to-air missile systems and launchers when it was stopped in the Panama Canal in July 2013.

The cargo was hidden under 200,000 bags of sugar.

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RI urged to put an end to illegal, unreported fishing

BeritaSore, Sen, Apr 6, 2009

In the runup to the upcoming World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia has been urged to make use of the event to ask other countries to stop illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.

“The government should be able to make use of the opportunity to secure a commitment against IUU fishing,” secretary general of the People’s Coalition for Fishery Justice (Kiara), Riza Damanik, said in a press briefing in connection with the WOC here on Friday. Riza said the government had to abandon its risky diplomacy of expecting aid funds for the rehabilitation of coral reefs to fight global warming. The government, Riza said, needs to act wisely by making use of the WOC in Manado on May 11-15 2009 to demand 10 countries to stop poaching in Indonesia.

In the past 10 years foreign fishing vessels from 10 countries had been poaching in Indonesian waters. Those countries included Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Korea, China, Taiwan, Panama, Myanmar and Malaysia.”The crisis in our seas is related to crimes committed in the seas. Because of illegal fishing we have lost 50 percent of our marine resources,” Reza said. The chairman of the Anti-Debt Coalition, Dani Setiawan, meanwhile, said Indonesia must be able to control its territorial sea.

It means, he said, Indonesia must not use the WOC to seek loans because it is feared they would make the country to lose its control of its sea. The director general of supervision and control of marine resources and fishery, Aji Sularso, said earlier that most vessels conducted illegal fishing in the country’s waters so far came from Vietnam.

He said however that it was Thailand that had exploited most of Indonesian fishery resources. He said Thailand already had a had strong network in the country. Earlier, former Minister of Maritime Exploration sSarwono Kusumaatmadja said illegal fishing by foreigners in Indonesian waters had cost the country an estimated US$4 billion in revenue every year.

Sarwono noted that the foreigners were getting more of Indonesia’s maritime resources than Indonesians themselves, while this country itself only earned some US$2.2 billion from its fishing sector.

“It’s our water and fish, but we ourselves are losing. It’s ridiculous, he said, adding that illegal fishing activities were mostly committed by foreign poachers from the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and China and some other neighboring countries that had no cooperation agreement with the government of Indonesia.

In fact, the poachers often used high technology in fishing, causing difficulty to Indonesian patrol boats to detect their presence. More tragic is that the poachers have shown no fear of Indonesian patrols, who are either outnumbered or poorly armed, director general of monitoring and control at the marine and fishery ministry, Aji Sularso, said earlier.

“The illegal fishermen show no respect for our national law. The shoot-and-sink policy will be part of a show of force to deter them,” he said. Aji said illegal fishing had become out of control, as it was “threatening Indonesia’s economic and territorial sovereignty”.

Under the Indonesian fishery Law No. 31/2004 on fisheries, the ministry’s patrol guards are authorized to carry guns. But in particular, the law concerned is designed to accommodate the needs and challenges of developing the fishing industry and to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal fishing.

The Indonesian government has been criticized for being “too lenient” in releasing and allowing Filipino fishermen to repatriate and reunite with their families. They would usually give one of two reasons, either citing humanitarian reasons or a lack of funds to provide basic needs and shelter. In addition, hundreds of confiscated foreign-flagged fishing vessels are now crowding dozens of seaports across Indonesia.

They are corroding, if not sinking and already wrecked, while waiting for legal processing, which could take years to complete. But no specific budget has been allocated for their maintenance.

Indonesia, which loses US$4 billion a year to poaching, is desperate to beef up its fishery patrol fleet, which currently consists of only 21 vessels. Securing the fishing boats could at least reduce the losses the country suffers.

Last year the government established five ad hoc fishery courts in Jakarta, Medan (North Sumatra), Pontianak, Tual island in Maluku and Bitung (North Sulawesi) in a bid to cut short the prolonged legal process against poachers, particularly those from overseas.

However, the ad hoc courts do not help achieve the goal as law enforcers are often divided over how to settle poaching cases. Maintaining this policy would risk Indonesia’s interest, not only will it send the wrong message on how Indonesia upholds the law, but it could also lead to an increase in the frequency of IUU in Indonesia.

Unfortunately, until now Indonesia has not established a special committee to deal with illegal fishing cases. The government tends to rely on a sectoral approach in handling such cases. Coordination between related government agencies is weak and would not be applied on a regular basis. A fisheries court has not been established either.

Indonesia and the Philippines have established a mechanism of Joint Commission on bilateral cooperation. The two countries have also signed an MoU on Marine and Fisheries Cooperation in General Santos, the Philippines, on Feb. 23, 2006. However, the two countries have not yet established a bilateral arrangement to table particular issues of fishermen. ( ant/ Eliswan Azly )