Eighteen Papua New Guineans working as observers on foreign-owned fishing vessels in open seas within the 200-miles economic zone have disappeared without a trace in the past five years, Parliament has been told.
The 18 were National Fisheries Authority observers aboard these vessels who keep track and records of the catch, the volume and other fishing practices.
Four of them, from East Sepik Province, disappeared last year, according to East Sepik Governor Allan Bird who raised the issue during question time.
Mr Bird had asked Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel for an investigation into these disappearances.
He said all four disappeared without trace at about 2am on separate occasions.
Mr Bird said one observer was lucky to be alive because a skipper of one these fishing vessels flew him out of Singapore and he was reluctant to return to work after the disappearance of his four colleagues.
In 2016, it was reported that a National Fisheries Authority observer went missing aboard a Chinese fishing vessel while travelling to Nauru.
According to parties to the Nauru Agreement chief executive officer Ludwig Kumoru, there were two observers on the Chinese-flag fishing vessel Feng Xiang. One of them was NFA observer James Numbaru, who went missing around 2am while on duty with a regional fisheries observer from the Solomon Islands.
Kumoru said it is the fourth Papua New Guinea observer to go missing.
Numbaru was under PNG observer duty as the national observer program and not under the regional observer program. The other observer from the Solomon Islands was on a regional observer duty.
The other observers who have been reported missing since 2012 include Charlie Lasisi, Wesley Talia and Larry Gavin all from PNG and Fijian Usaia Masibalavu and American Keith Davis.
In November 2015 it was first reported that six Papua New Guinea crew members had been missing from foreign-owned fishing vessels, prompting the PNG Maritime and Transport Workers’ Union president Alex Rawali to clarify that they were not registered seamen, a reason why the International Maritime Workers’ Union had not investigated their disappearances.
It was found that the missing crews were not registered with his union or the National Maritime Safety Authority.
Mr Rawali expressed concern that foreign-owned logging and fishing vessels were employing people who were not trained seamen.
Police Forensic Science Services had investigated these six cases, going as far as Japan in 2014 to investigate a missing person from Gulf Province.
Police said the company filed a report and arranged with National Fisheries Authority and the Department of Foreign Affairs for police to investigate but all the evidence of the disappearance had been removed two weeks later.
Police also reported a Milne Bay seaman missing in Malaysia after falling overboard a logging ship about November 2015.
Yesterday, Mr Bird asked what the Government was doing about the disappearances, calling for an immediate investigations into the disappearances, and if those responsible and the vessels prosecuted and the vessels banned for operating in PNG.
However, Mr Abel said he was not aware and that the Government would consider an investigation.
Source: Post Courier
The 18 were National Fisheries Authority observers aboard these vessels who keep track and records of the catch, the volume and other fishing practices.
Four of them, from East Sepik Province, disappeared last year, according to East Sepik Governor Allan Bird who raised the issue during question time.
Mr Bird had asked Deputy Prime Minister Charles Abel for an investigation into these disappearances.
He said all four disappeared without trace at about 2am on separate occasions.
Mr Bird said one observer was lucky to be alive because a skipper of one these fishing vessels flew him out of Singapore and he was reluctant to return to work after the disappearance of his four colleagues.
In 2016, it was reported that a National Fisheries Authority observer went missing aboard a Chinese fishing vessel while travelling to Nauru.
According to parties to the Nauru Agreement chief executive officer Ludwig Kumoru, there were two observers on the Chinese-flag fishing vessel Feng Xiang. One of them was NFA observer James Numbaru, who went missing around 2am while on duty with a regional fisheries observer from the Solomon Islands.
Kumoru said it is the fourth Papua New Guinea observer to go missing.
Numbaru was under PNG observer duty as the national observer program and not under the regional observer program. The other observer from the Solomon Islands was on a regional observer duty.
The other observers who have been reported missing since 2012 include Charlie Lasisi, Wesley Talia and Larry Gavin all from PNG and Fijian Usaia Masibalavu and American Keith Davis.
In November 2015 it was first reported that six Papua New Guinea crew members had been missing from foreign-owned fishing vessels, prompting the PNG Maritime and Transport Workers’ Union president Alex Rawali to clarify that they were not registered seamen, a reason why the International Maritime Workers’ Union had not investigated their disappearances.
It was found that the missing crews were not registered with his union or the National Maritime Safety Authority.
Mr Rawali expressed concern that foreign-owned logging and fishing vessels were employing people who were not trained seamen.
Police Forensic Science Services had investigated these six cases, going as far as Japan in 2014 to investigate a missing person from Gulf Province.
Police said the company filed a report and arranged with National Fisheries Authority and the Department of Foreign Affairs for police to investigate but all the evidence of the disappearance had been removed two weeks later.
Police also reported a Milne Bay seaman missing in Malaysia after falling overboard a logging ship about November 2015.
Yesterday, Mr Bird asked what the Government was doing about the disappearances, calling for an immediate investigations into the disappearances, and if those responsible and the vessels prosecuted and the vessels banned for operating in PNG.
However, Mr Abel said he was not aware and that the Government would consider an investigation.
Source: Post Courier