Suspected fishing poachers block New Zealand navy's boarding in Southern Ocean

Two of the three vessels that are allegedly fishing illegal in waters around Antarctica have thwarted New Zealand navy attempts to board them, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said Wednesday.

Personnel from HMNZS Wellington had attempted the board the vessels in the Southern Ocean after the flag state, Equatorial Guinea, gave permission for the action, but the captains of both fishing vessels refused to comply, McCully said in a statement.

"Overnight Equatorial Guinea told us that they consider the three vessels located in the Southern Ocean to be operating illegally and agreed New Zealand should board the vessels to verify their flagged status," McCully said.

"The HMNZS Wellington attempted to exercise its legitimate right to board the Yongding and the Songhua earlier today, but the vessels refused to cooperate. Due to the conditions and the evasive tactics of the masters it was not possible to safely board these vessels," he said.

"While this is disappointing, it is important that we keep the safety of the New Zealand crew as our paramount consideration."

The New Zealand authorities would be sharing the considerable evidence of illegal fishing with key international partners, and with inter-governmental bodies such as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and Interpol, and work with port states to prevent the ships from offloading or selling their catch.

"We will also work with Interpol to take action against those aboard the ship, encouraging other countries to take legal action against the company which purportedly owns the vessels, and most importantly working with the Spanish authorities to investigate the links between the vessels and the Spanish-based syndicate, Vidal Armadores S.A," McCully said.

HMNZS Wellington had also intercepted a third fishing boats flagged to Equatorial Guinea, the Kunlun, which was believed to be fishing illegally.

McCully told Radio New Zealand earlier Wednesday that Equatorial Guinea would take steps to rescind the flag of any ship involved in illegal fishing.

Fishing in the Southern Ocean is regulated by the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and New Zealand conducts regular patrols there targeting illegal fishing operations. Endi