United States Blocked Fiji-based Vessel over Enslaving its Crew

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The United States has blocked imports in American ports from a Fiji-based tuna fishing vessel that is alleged to enslave crew members. US Customs and Border Protection issued an order on Wednesday to halt shipments from the Hangton No 112, a Chinese national-operated long-liner. The order came after the agency determined there was credible evidence that the vessel’s crew was operating under forced labor conditions. The CBP acting commissioner said, “Foreign fishing vessels like the Hangton No 112 continue to lure vulnerable migrant workers into forced labor situations so that they can sell seafood below market value, which threatens the livelihoods of American fishermen. CBP will continue to stand up against these vessels’ abusive labor practices by preventing the introduction of their unethically harvested seafood into the US market”.

The CBP also identified at least 3 of the International Labor Organization’s 11 indicators of forced labor, including withholding of wages, debt bondage, and retention of identity documents. The Hangton No 112 has imported around $40m in tuna and other fish into the US market, despite industry efforts to tackle forced labor on board fishing vessels. The director of the CPB, Ana Hinojosa investigates allegations of forced labor. The identities of importers who received the shipments have not been disclosed. The 34-meter vessel operates under the flag of Fiji and was built in 2017 and employed 13 crew members. A December 2019 investigation by Greenpeace Southeast Asia and the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union said the vessel was found to have seven of the ILO’s indicators of forced labor.

The report pointed out that a representative from Hangton claimed that the said vessel is not a distant water fishing vessel and that its Indonesian crew is recruited by an Indonesian agent. The representative also denied accusations of salary deductions and retention of identity documents. Wednesday’s announcement followed a series of orders targeting Asian fishing vessels amid reports of forced labor. The CBP blocked imports of seafood in May from the entire fleet of Dalian Ocean Fishing, a Chinese company. The agency officials reported that crew members were forced to work in slave-like conditions that resulted in the deaths of several Indonesian fishermen in 2020. Current estimates from the ILO suggest that more than 25 million workers suffer under conditions of forced labor globally.