The ship was chased all around Antarctic waters by the Australian and New Zealand navies on suspicion it was poaching large amounts of valuable Patagonian toothfish, known to chefs as Chilean seabass
An Interpol Purple Notice was issued on the ship in January. Purple Notices are "to seek or provide information on modi operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals".
The notice states, "The Government of New Zealand and the Interpol General Secretariat are seeking more information on the location of the individuals and networks that own, operate and profit from the illegal actions of the vessel Kunlun …
"By determining the status, location and the individuals and companies involved in the operation of Kunlun, member countries will be able to investigate possible violations of their laws and take appropriate enforcement measures should the Kunlun attempt to operate illegally in their waters or ports, or under their national jurisdiction."
The Purple Notice goes on to point out that in the past seven years the ship has had at least eight different names, and has been registered under at least six different flags, including North Korea.
The Taishan’s cargo of eight refrigerated containers, which had been offloaded in Phuket and sent to Songkhla for onward shipment to Vietnam, is still being held after customs officials found that the 182 tons of fish inside them were snowfish, not grouper as stated on the cargo manifest.
Prasongsak Boonma, Head of a customhouse of Phuket Customs told The Phuket News yesterday (March 25), “The product is still being held as part of the Customs investigation because of wrong information about what was inside the containers.
“It is now up to the owner of the fish to provide documentation and an explanation to officials. We understand that they will come with their documentation soon. It is up to them. If the documents are not correct then we will have to consider the case in greater depth.
Marine Office Chief Phuriphat Teerakulpisut said the Taishan is still anchored off Phuket’s Deep Sea Port.
He added, “I told [the owners] that the captain of the Taishan is not qualified to command this ship. The company must find another captain who has the correct license.”
Meanwhile, Capt Paul Watson of ecowarriors Sea Shepherd, which also chased the Kunlun in the Antarctic, has alleged that the cargo is actually toothfish.
“Sea Shepherd will continue to investigate the fate of the 182 tons of toothfish, a cargo worth more than the ship itself. Vidal Armadores [of Spain, the ship’s owners] may have sacrificed the ship for the cargo and if this cargo has been sold, it implicates both Thailand and Vietnam in the illegal movements of contraband fish.”
He raised another concern: “One very worrying fact is that the Thais found no nets or fishing gear onboard the Kunlun. These nets were seen on board by the New Zealand Navy two months before.
“It is assumed that the Kunlun threw the nets, which could exceed 100 kilometers [in length] over the side prior to entering Thai waters. If so this would mean that there is now a massive drifting ghost net causing ecological havoc in the Indian Ocean.