88 More Indonesian Workers Repatriated After Being Dumped By Chinese Fishing Fleet; Six Died At Sea
Eighty-eight Indonesian sailors have recently been repatriated from a notorious Chinese fishing fleet where six of their compatriots died under harsh working conditions. The Indonesian Foreign Ministry announced the return of the crew members in three batches — on Oct. 27, Nov. 3, and Nov. 10 — from Dakar, Senegal, where they had been stranded. The men had worked on board seven boats owned by Dalian Ocean Fishing, a major Chinese tuna-fishing company that supplies the Chinese and Japanese markets.
News of the crew members’ repatriation comes after an initial batch of 155 Indonesian sailors and the bodies of two others arrived on Nov. 7 at a port in Bitung, North Sulawesi. They had worked on board 12 DOF vessels. The latest arrivals bring to 257 the number of Indonesian crew members repatriated this year alone from DOF vessels. In addition, six deaths have been reported.
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The harsh working conditions faced by Indonesian sailors on board the DOF fleet came to light in May this year, when a group of them were repatriated from South Korea, where DOF vessel Long Xing 629 had docked. Four Indonesians had died after working on board the boat; one of the bodies was dumped into the sea in December 2019. In August, another Indonesian sailor died on board the Long Xing 629; his body was one of two sent back in early November. Judha said both died from “sickness,” though he did not elaborate.
The survivors of the Long Xing 629 sent home in May told the South Korean human rights group Advocates for Public Interest Law (APIL) that they had suffered from dangerous and unhealthy working conditions. They said they captain had confiscated their passports, made them work an average of 18 hours a day, and directed them to use specialized gear to catch and fin a large number of sharks, including threatened species protected under the CITES trade convention.
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https://news.mongabay.com/2020/11/more-indonesian-sailors-repatriated-from-deadly-chinese-fishing-fleet/