The Bandit 6 was a group of six vessels which were illegally fishing Patagonian toothfish in the Southern Ocean. Actions by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and national governments resulted in all six vessels being detained or sunk.
Patagonian toothfish and the related Antarctic toothfish are relatives of cod that are sold under the name "Chilean Sea Bass." Illegal fishing vessels like the Bandit 6 do not report their catch, violating the regulations set by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. [1] They often also use banned, environmentally damaging fishing methods such as gill nets. [2]
In November 2014, Sea Shepherd launched Operation Icefish, a campaign against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Southern Ocean. Six vessels in particular had been operating illegally for over ten years; Sea Shepherd dubbed these vessels the "Bandit 6." The six ships were Kunlun, Perlon, Songhua, Thunder, Viking, and Yongding. [3] Four of the ships, Kunlun, Songhua, Viking and Yongding had at one point been owned by Vidal Armadores, a Spanish company associated with toothfish poaching. [4] [5]
In December 2014, the Sea Shepherd vessels MV Bob Barker and MY Sam Simon sailed to the Southern Ocean in search of the Bandit Six. [3] On 17 December the Bob Barker spotted the Thunder and began chasing it. [4] Three of the boats, Kunlun, Songhua and Yongding, were spotted and stopped by the New Zealand Navy patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington. [6] The crews claimed that the three ships were registered in Equatorial Guinea, but the government of Equatorial Guinea said that this was not true. [7] Interpol purple notices were issued out for all three vessels at the request of the New Zealand government. [7] The crews refused to allow their vessels to be boarded, and weather conditions meant that the Wellington could not force a boarding. The Wellington's crew gathered information about the vessels and the patrol boat returned to port. [7] On 2 February 2015, the Sam Simon spotted Yongding and Kunlun, and pursued Kunlun for eight days, driving it out of the fishing grounds and collecting nets the Kunlun left behind, which the Sam Simon delivered to Mauritius. [4] In March, the Kunlun arrived at Phuket, Thailand, with 182 tons of toothfish on board, which the crew of the Kunlun tried to offload as grouper; Thai authorities detained the ship. [8] Also in March, the Viking was detained by Malaysia, but was later released after paying $71,500 in fines. [5]
Meanwhile, the Bob Barker (later joined by the Sam Simon) was still pursuing the Thunder. The chase covered over 10,000 nautical miles and lasted 110 days, the longest pursuit of an illegal fishing boat on record. [9] On 6 April, the Thunder's captain radioed a distress call, claiming the vessel had collided with something. The Sea Shepard vessels moved to assist, and all 40 of the Thunder's crew were rescued. Three Sea Shepherd crew boarded the Thunder and reported that cabin doors on the vessel had been tied open. [9] This combined with the lack of evidence for a collision and the fact that the Thunder's crew cheered as the ship sank led the Sea Shepherd crews to believe that the Thunder had been intentionally scuttled to hide evidence of illegal fishing. [9]
On 22 April 2015, the Perlon was spotted and boarded by Australian Customs and Border Protection Service and Australian Defence Force officials. [10] The Australian Fisheries Management Authority alerted other governments in the area about the Perlon, and when the ship arrived in Malaysia in May, it was detained. The crew of the Perlon were later fined $445,000 and ordered to forfeit the cargo, valued at approximately $1.3 million. [11]
On 19 May, Peter Hammarstedt, captain of the MV Bob Barker, was on sabbatical in Mindelo, Cape Verde, when he noticed a familiar-looking ship had arrived at the port. He took a photo of the ship and forwarded it to New Zealand authorities, who confirmed that the ship was the Songhua. The Songhua was joined the next day by the Yongding, and on 21 May both were boarded and detained by Cape Verde port authorities. [4]
In September 2015, the Kunlun escaped from Phuket. The Phuket authorities had allowed the Kunlun to refuel so that it could keep its cargo frozen. [8] The Kunlun was next seen in Senegal in early February 2016, claiming to be registered in Indonesia. Senegalese authorities detained the ship. [8]
The Sea Shepherd flagship MV Steve Irwin searched for the last of the Bandit 6, Viking. When the MV Steve Irwin located the ship, they alerted the Indonesian authorities. [5] On 25 February 2016, the Indonesian Navy seized the Viking near Tanjung Berakit, Riau Islands province. [12] On 14 March, the Viking was destroyed by Indonesian authorities. [1]
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action tactics to achieve its goals, most famously by deploying its fleet of ships to track, report on and actively impede the work of fishing vessels believed to be engaged in illegal and unregulated activities causing the unsustainable exploitation of marine life.
The Patagonian toothfish, also known as Chilean sea bass, mero, and icefish, is a species of notothen found in cold waters between depths of 45 and 3,850 m in the southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and Southern Ocean on seamounts and continental shelves around most Subantarctic islands.
RV Farley Mowat was a long-range, ice class ship. Originally built as a Norwegian fisheries research and enforcement vessel, she was purchased by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in Edinburgh, Scotland, in August 1996. Originally named Sea Shepherd III, the name was changed in 1999 to Ocean Warrior, before eventually being renamed in 2002 after Canadian writer Farley Mowat.
Neptune's Navy is the name that the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society uses to refer to the ships it operates.
HMNZS Wellington (P55) is a Protector-class offshore patrol vessel in the Royal New Zealand Navy.
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Viarsa 1 was a Uruguayan-flagged fishing vessel famous for its involvement in a high seas chase.
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The MV Oceanic Viking was an armed patrol vessel of the Australian Customs Service. Originally built in 1996 as the offshore supply vessel Viking Lady for Norwegian shipping company Eidesvik Shipping AS, the ship was converted into a cable layer in 2000 and renamed Oceanic Viking. The ship was chartered to the Australian Customs Service through P&O Marine Services from 2004 to 2010. In 2011, it was purchased by A&P Tyne, Isle of Man, and renamed European Supporter.
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The MY Bob Barker was a ship owned and operated by the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, named after American television game show host and animal rights activist Bob Barker, whose donation of $5 million to the society facilitated the purchase of the ship. She began operating for the group in late 2009 / early 2010 in its campaign against whaling by Japanese fisheries. In October 2010, Sea Shepherd stated that Bob Barker had completed a major refit in Hobart, Tasmania. Hobart became the ship's honorary home port in 2014.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society engages in various demonstrations, campaigns, and tactical operations at sea and elsewhere, including conventional protests and direct actions to protect marine wildlife. Sea Shepherd operations have included interdiction against commercial fishing, shark poaching and finning, seal hunting and whaling. Many of their activities have been called piracy or terrorism by their targets and by the ICRW. Sea Shepherd says that they have taken more than 4,000 volunteers on operations over a period of 30 years.
Captain Peter James Bethune is a New Zealand ship's captain with 500 ton master licence, published author, producer of The Operatives TV show, and public speaker. He is the founder of Earthrace Conservation. He works assisting countries in Asia, Central America and Africa with fisheries enforcement and anti-poaching. He is the holder of the world record for circumnavigating the globe in his powerboat Earthrace, a wavepiercing trimaran powered with biofuels.
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FV Thunder was an outlaw fishing vessel sunk in 2015. The ship was built in 1969 in Norway and has gone by many names, including: Vesturvón, Arctic Ranger, Rubin, Typhoon I, Kuko, and Wuhan N4. The Thunder was part of the "Bandit 6", a group of six fishing vessels that illegally fished for Patagonian toothfish in the Southern Ocean. The ship was last registered in Lagos, Nigeria; however, the ship was officially de-listed by Nigeria a week before she sank.
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