Govt strips Paloma V of Namibian flag

ONE of the two Namibian fishing vessels recently accused of illegal fishing in international waters was yesterday served with a deregistration certificate by the Ministry of Works and Transport.

This spells the end of the Paloma V’s right to operate as a Namibian-flagged ship, after the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources last week revoked its national fishing licence. Fisheries Minister Abraham Iyambo yesterday called a press conference in Windhoek to inform the media of the latest developments.Namibia’s decision was based on two factors, Iyambo said.The most significant of these was a complaint received from New Zealand authorities in May that the ship may have been involved in illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.The second reason was that the Paloma V had informed the Fisheries Ministry that it intended to leave Namibia and re-register in Mauritius.The controversy surrounding the ship started in May, when the vessel, which had been out catching toothfish in the Southern Ocean off Antarctica, arrived in the port of Auckland, New Zealand, on May 16, intending to land its catch there.The ship had requested and received prior permission to do so from both Namibian and New Zealand authorities, Iyambo confirmed yesterday.However, the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries decided to inspect the vessel, and according to them, they picked up some irregularities.According to the New Zealand authorities, Iyambo said yesterday, they were not satisfied with fishing documentation and records presented to them by the master on board.The information was needed to verify whether the vessel’s fishing operations and catches were in accordance with the approval granted to them.During the inspection, New Zealand removed three computers from the Paloma V to search for information.”The information they retrieved indicated that the Paloma V had been involved in IUU fishing in the past.This includes refuelling and re-supplying IUU-listed vessel Chilbo San 33 during the period from eight to nine August 2007, while the vessel was not yet flagged to Namibia,” Iyambo said.In addition to this, the authorities also found a crew list and employment certificate, which showed that crew members from the Paloma V were also employed by another company linked to illegal fishing.Contacted by The Namibian yesterday, the owner of the vessel, Omunkete Fisheries’ boss James Van Zyl, said he did not wish to comment.In a previous article published by The Namibian on the Paloma V controversy, Van Zyl questioned the allegations against the ship, saying that they had to do with the vessel’s previous owners.He argued then that New Zealand and a number of Antarctic fishing companies wanted exclusive control over the area in which Paloma V was fishing.The ship has since docked in Walvis Bay and offloaded its fish there.Iyambo yesterday also referred to a second Namibian fishing vessel implicated in alleged illegal activity – the Antillas Reefer – as well as the MFV Holmatindur, which capsized off Walvis Bay on Wednesday.The Antillas Reefer was seized in Mozambique towards the end of June after that country informed Namibia that it was investigating the ship for possible illegal fishing in their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).An EEZ is a sea zone over which a particular state has special rights to exploit its marine resources.Iyambo said his ministry was still awaiting official information on this ship’s situation, and would take appropriate action afterwards.The ship belongs to Ompala Fishing.The MFV Holmatindur, he stated, was booked to go on its annual dry-docking in Walvis Bay when it had an accident.He said no injuries or fatalities were reported, and that salvage operators were working on a plan to re-float the vessel.”Necessary investigation will be conducted to ascertain the cause of the accident,” he said.Fisheries Minister Abraham Iyambo yesterday called a press conference in Windhoek to inform the media of the latest developments.Namibia’s decision was based on two factors, Iyambo said.The most significant of these was a complaint received from New Zealand authorities in May that the ship may have been involved in illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.The second reason was that the Paloma V had informed the Fisheries Ministry that it intended to leave Namibia and re-register in Mauritius. The controversy surrounding the ship started in May, when the vessel, which had been out catching toothfish in the Southern Ocean off Antarctica, arrived in the port of Auckland, New Zealand, on May 16, intending to land its catch there.The ship had requested and received prior permission to do so from both Namibian and New Zealand authorities, Iyambo confirmed yesterday.However, the New Zealand Ministry of Fisheries decided to inspect the vessel, and according to them, they picked up some irregularities.According to the New Zealand authorities, Iyambo said yesterday, they were not satisfied with fishing documentation and records presented to them by the master on board.The information was needed to verify whether the vessel’s fishing operations and catches were in accordance with the approval granted to them.During the inspection, New Zealand removed three computers from the Paloma V to search for information.”The information they retrieved indicated that the Paloma V had been involved in IUU fishing in the past.This includes refuelling and re-supplying IUU-listed vessel Chilbo San 33 during the period from eight to nine August 2007, while the vessel was not yet flagged to Namibia,” Iyambo said.In addition to this, the authorities also found a crew list and employment certificate, which showed that crew members from the Paloma V were also employed by another company linked to illegal fishing.Contacted by The Namibian yesterday, the owner of the vessel, Omunkete Fisheries’ boss James Van Zyl, said he did not wish to comment.In a previous article published by The Namibian on the Paloma V controversy, Van Zyl questioned the allegations against the ship, saying that they had to do with the vessel’s previous owners.He argued then that New Zealand and a number of Antarctic fishing companies wanted exclusive control over the area in which Paloma V was fishing.The ship has since docked in Walvis Bay and offloaded its fish there.Iyambo yesterday also referred to a second Namibian fishing vessel implicated in alleged illegal activity – the Antillas Reefer – as well as the MFV Holmatindur, which capsized off Walvis Bay on Wednesday.The Antillas Reefer was seized in Mozambique towards the end of June after that country informed Namibia that it was investigating the ship for possible illegal fishing in their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).An EEZ is a sea zone over which a particular state has special rights to exploit its marine resources.Iyambo said his ministry was still awaiting official information on this ship’s situation, and would take appropriate action afterwards.The ship belongs to Ompala Fishing.The MFV Holmatindur, he stated, was booked to go on its annual dry-docking in Walvis Bay when it had an accident.He said no injuries or fatalities were reported, and that salvage operators were working on a plan to re-float the vessel.”Necessary investigation will be conducted to ascertain the cause of the accident,” he said.