Greenpeace is calling for immediate legal action against a Filipino ship that previously engaged in an illegal transfer of fish on the high seas. The Filipino reefer, Sal 19, was found illegally transferring fish to Heng Xing 1, a Cambodian-flagged reefer, along with 2 Indonesian purse seine fishing vessels MV Starcki 10 and MV Starcki 11 on the high seas. The Sal 19 is not authorised to operate in the area and is therefore not allowed to fish or transfer fish at sea according to the rules of the relevant management organization, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

Due to a major loophole in legislation for international waters, the four vessels engaged in the large-scale illegal transshipment evaded arrest last week. Greenpeace’s ship Esperanza encountered the Sal 19 in Palau’s waters, and discovered that its vessel name, port city and call sign had been erased from all visible parts of the ship, making it unidentifiable.