Taiwan fishing boat detained at Miyako

The Yungsheng 106, skippered by Chen Chien-feng, will be released from Miyako where it was towed and detained on Saturday, after he pays a fine of NT$500,000 (US$5,100), a Central News Agency dispatch from Tokyo said yesterday.

Chen was fined for unwittingly sailing his vessel with a nine-member crew into Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Miyako. The crew will return to Suao aboard the fishing boat.

Lee Ming-tsung, Taipei’s representative at Naha, was quoted as saying the Yungsheng might not have been trespassing. “The skipper thought his ship was making a passage of innocence,” he added. The fishing boat isn’t equipped with an VMS (vessel monitoring system), which tells where it is in the open sea.

A Japanese Maritime Safety Agency cutter, the Nobaru, tried to stop the Yungsheng in waters 12 miles off Miyako early Saturday morning.

As Chen didn’t heed the command to avast, the Nobaru chased it and rammed it to a stop, resulting in a slash on its starboard side. The Yungsheng was towed to Miyako at 1:20 p.m.

None aboard the fishing boat were injured in the incident. Only two of the crew are Taiwan nationals: Chen and his son, who serves as the engineer. One crew member is Chinese, while the remaining six are Philippinos.

Only the skipper was questioned at Miyako. After he was told to pay the fine, he said he should have the damage to his ship repaired. It will cost some 60,000 yen (US$600) to repair the ship, Chen said. The repairs are expected to start early this morning.

“We are certain we’ll be back home by the evening,” Chen said.

The Japanese settled the incident without allowing it to escalate, as did an earlier dispute last June.

A leisure fishing boat with three crew members and 13 customers aboard sank some six miles southeast of the Tiaoyutai Islands, known in Japan as the Senkakus, on June 10 after colliding with a Japanese coast guard patrol ship.

The skipper, slightly injured, was detained at Miyako for questioning for two days. He was released, but a Japanese court wanted to sue him for intrusion into Japanese territorial seas.

Taipei recalled its representative in Tokyo and filed protests, and the row ended only after Japan officially apologized for the incident and agreed to pay reparations on June 17.

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