Chinese vessel Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 was detained last August inside the Marine Reserve in Galapagos. (Photo: DPNG)

Seized Chinese boat to be used for 'logistics'

ECUADOR
Wednesday, October 18, 2017, 22:40 (GMT + 9)

The Real Estate Management Service of the Public Sector (INMOBILIAR) and the Navy of Ecuador signed the Chinese vessel Fu Yuan Leng 999 delivery-receipt agreement and record in Puerto Atún, Jaramijó.

In a press conference, the director general of INMOBILIAR, Dr. Nicolas Issa Wanger, pointed out that "the roile of this institution is that the seized goods have the best possible use, so it has proceeded to sign the agreement with the Navy of Ecuador for the Chinese vessel, which is in good condition. "

For his part, Rear Admiral Renan Ruiz Cornejo, Commander General of the Navy, said that "this ship will be helpful for logistics to offer service for Ecuador," as it is expressed in the agreement signed by the two institutions. The vessel will be used for support in naval operations and for the transportation of cargo and personnel to the populations and military departments of the Galapagos archipelago and the Ecuadorian continental coast.

The Chinese ship Fu Yuan Leng 999 was intercepted and detained while sailing inside the Galapagos Marine Reserve last August. At that time, it was reported that it was carrying 300 tonnes of silky and hammerhead sharks, both in danger of extinction, but on Monday Minister of Environment Tarsicio Hail reported that the new skills revealed that it was actually carrying a load of more than 600 tonnes.

"They were not 300 tonnes, they were 600 tonnes. Once we removed the top part of the fishing load, we found more and more holds with twice as much as we thought the ship had," the minister said in an interview with Latina radio.

"There was a lot, or everything that had been trapped in the nets was taken to that ship that is not a fishing boat, it is a freighter," he added.

On August 28, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno Multicompetent Judicial Unit on San Cristóbal Island sentenced the 20 crew members to one to four years' imprisonment, and last Thursday the Ministry of the Environment reported that the load was destroyed.

The destruction of the cargo included an inventory in which it was determined that 75 per cent of the fishing catch corresponded to silky sharks, hammerhead sharks and a juvenile whale shark. In addition, a large number of sacks were found with shark fins, as well as neonate and unborn sharks (removed from pregnant females), La Republica reported.

Related articles:

- China expects Ecuador to respect the law in Galapagos case
- WWF speaks out on seizure of Chinese boat illegally fishing in Galapagos
- Chinese vessel captured in Galapagos with threatened shark species

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