Fishing vessel crewmen not guilty on work permit charges

In a matter peppered with reported claims of human trafficking and mistreatment, allegations of delayed justice and labour and immigration breaches, four Chinese crew members of two Namibian fishing vessels have been found not guilty on a series of charges related to immigration and work permit violations.

Walvis Bay magistrate Andima Rosalia discharged Chuang Chien-Shan, Shen Yangkuan, Sui Zhenhai and Ou Chun-Ming, who faced allegations of contravening the Immigration Control Act, in a ruling delivered on 30 October.

The four men were found not guilty on charges of conducting employment without a work permit and doing business activities without a proper work permit.

Defence lawyer Jan Wessels defended the four men.

The men – two being vessel captains and two vessel engineers – were held in Namibia for more than a year since nearly 50 crew members were purportedly rescued from two Namibian-registered vessels on which they were suspected to have been victims of human trafficking.

The MV Shang Fu and the Nata 2, owned by Nata Fishing Enterprises, have since been held at the Walvis Bay harbour as investigations into the claims continued.

While no official charges of human trafficking have been laid yet, charges pertaining to alleged immigration and labour violations have come to the fore – with only the four Chinese nationals charged.

The vessels each carried 30 members. The vessels’ crew included 35 Filipinos, two Taiwanese nationals, two Chinese nationals, three Indonesians, two Vietnamese and four Mozambican nationals.

The majority of the crew members were held at the National Youth Centre at Henties Bay until their deportation earlier this year, while eight were held and cared for on the vessels – these included Chuang, Shen, Sui and Ou.

While all of them have now left Namibia and gone home, the vessels are still being held.

The Namibian understands from reliable sources within the justice system, and who been involved in the matter, that there are still court cases in the making, which may include civil action.

According to the company, it will be difficult to find new crew members for its vessels because “everyone now knows that Namibia arrests people for no reason and they are now afraid to come”.

“The story has spread like wildfire overseas where the crew [members] with the necessary skills for tuna fishing are,” a director said.

Earlier this year, The Namibian interviewed several of the two vessels’ crew members, who denied claims of abuse and poor working conditions, stating that conditions on the two vessels were better than on many other international and local vessels. They also denied they had been forced to work on the vessels.

Statements from the Indonesian and Chinese embassies further complicated the narrative, with both denying any human trafficking involving their nationals and expressing satisfaction with the working and living conditions aboard the vessels.

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