ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 16 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
October 5, 2015
Captain arrested on boat believed to contain slave-caught fish
By Fakhrurradzie Gade, Margie
Mason, and Robin McDowell
CRIMINALS CAUGHT. Silver Sea 2, a Thai-
owned cargo ship that was seized by Indonesian au-
thorities, is seen docked at the port of Sabang, Aceh
province, Indonesia. The Thai captain of the ship was
arrested in Indonesia following allegations of illegal
fishing, an official said. It is the latest development
linked to an Associated Press investigation that uncov-
ered a slave island earlier this year. (AP Photo/Heri
Juanda)
The Associated Press
S
ABANG, Indonesia — The Thai
captain of a seized cargo ship
carrying an estimated $2 million
worth of seafood has been arrested in Indo-
nesia on suspicion of illegal fishing, in the
latest development linked to an Associated
Press investigation that uncovered a slave
island earlier this year. At least one other
crew member is still under scrutiny.
The massive Thai-owned Silver Sea 2
was first identified by The AP in July
through a high-resolution photo taken
from space, showing slave-caught fish
being loaded onto the refrigerated vessel
in Papua New Guinea’s waters. The AP
then tracked the ship through its satellite
beacon
and
informed
Indonesian
authorities when it crossed into their
waters on its way home to Thailand.
The arrest is one of 10 made in Indonesia
and Thailand since the investigation tied
the catch of migrant workers forced to fish
to the supply chains of major U.S. food
sellers and pet food companies six months
ago. As a result, more than 2,000 men from
Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos
have been identified or sent home, a
multi-million dollar Thai-Indonesian
fishing business has been shut down, class
action lawsuits have been filed, and new
laws have been introduced.
While touring the Silver Sea 2,
Indonesian fisheries minister Susi
Pudjiastuti said she believed the frozen
fish filling up its holds came from eastern
Indonesia’s Arafura Sea, where foreign
fishing vessels are banned. She also said
authorities are looking further into
evidence that suggests the ship may be
linked to the human trafficking ring
described by The AP. The Silver Sea 2 is
accused of receiving illegally-caught fish
at sea and turning off its satellite beacon,
and the remaining 16 crew members will
be deported.
Pudjiastuti said she hoped anyone found
guilty would face harsh punishment as a
deterrent, and the vessel may be
destroyed. Indonesia has already blown up
dozens of smaller foreign boats accused of
illegal fishing. The 2,285-ton ship is now at
Serenity Now: Despite language
barriers, kindness in Myanmar
By Kristi Eaton
a naval base in Sabang in the country’s far
northwestern tip.
“If the court decides it should be
confiscated, then we will sink it,” she said.
Silver Sea Reefer Co., which owns the
Silver Sea 2, maintains it has done nothing
wrong.
Thailand’s fishing industry, worth $7
billion a year in exports, relies on tens of
thousands of poor migrant laborers who
come seeking jobs mainly from neigh-
boring countries. They often are tricked,
sold, or kidnapped and put onto boats sent
to distant foreign waters to poach fish.
Refrigerated cargo ships are used to pick
up seafood and sometimes transport new
slaves, although no victims of trafficking
were found on the Silver Sea 2.
Late last year, AP journalists saw
slave-caught fish being loaded onto
another reefer owned by Silver Sea in the
Indonesian island village of Benjina,
where men were found locked in a cage
asking to go home. In written surveys
conducted with nearly 400 slaves who
later were rescued, several also told The
AP they were trafficked to Indonesia from
Thailand aboard Silver Sea ships,
including the Silver Sea 2.
The high-resolution photo taken from
space for AP by U.S.-based commercial
satellite imagery company DigitalGlobe
showed the Silver Sea 2 in Papua New
Guinea with its holds open and a trawler
tethered to each side, loading fish.
Analysts identified the smaller boats as
among those that fled Benjina earlier this
year, crewed by enslaved men who said
they were routinely beaten and forced to
work nearly nonstop with little or no pay.
Another Thai cargo ship was also
impounded in Papua New Guinea after
eight trafficking victims were found on
board.
The AP’s work was entered into the U.S.
congressional record for a hearing, after
links were made to the supply chains of
American companies such as Wal-Mart,
Sysco, Kroger, Fancy Feast, Meow Mix,
and Iams. The businesses have all said
they strongly condemn labor abuse and
have taken steps to prevent it.
Mason reported from Jakarta, Indonesia
and McDowell from Singapore. Associated
Press videographer Vasapa Wanichwethin
contributed to this report from Bangkok.
The Associated Press
P
INDAYA, Myan-
mar — The 77-
year-old man didn’t
speak a word of English
and my Burmese vocabu-
lary was limited to thank
you. Somehow, though, we
were able to connect over
an open fire in his tiny
home in the mountains
outside Pindaya, Myan-
mar.
I’d just finished trekking
through the nearby jungle
when my local guide told
me we were stopping to eat
lunch at the man’s home.
Wearing the traditional
Burmese sarong known as
a longyi, he asked me — or,
more accurately, gestured
to me — to write my name
and nationality in his
paper notebook beside the
previous European visi-
tors. He in turn wrote down
his name in beautiful
Burmese script on a torn
sheet of paper for me. I
asked my guide, who knew
limited English, to help me
translate it, but even my
guide couldn’t help. In-
stead, I had the man repeat
his name over and over
until I phonetically spelled
it out in English. U Kah
Poh.
The experience might
have been frustrating for
some people, but I enjoyed
every minute of it. Just a
few days before this
encounter, I’d left a
network of friends in
Cambodia I had made over
the previous six months in
order to travel on my own
Before pruning, planting or removing
a tree, a permit may be required.
BEAUTY & KINDNESS. The view of Pindaya, Myanmar (also
known as Burma) is seen from Shwe Oo Min Pagoda. Pindaya is known
for its limestone caves that include more than 8,000 carvings and images
of Buddha. Big, small, cracked, shiny, every imaginable type of statue is
crammed into the cave, which is open to the public. (Kristi Eaton via AP)
for a few weeks before
returning to the U.S. I was
exhausted,
second-
guessing my life decisions
and wondering if I had it in
me to travel on my own for
several weeks.
Then I arrived in
Myanmar, a country I had
wanted to visit since a
nominally civilian govern-
ment came into power a few
years ago after decades of
military rule. After flying
into the largest city of
Yangon, I took another
flight up to the airport in
Heho and then made the
one-hour drive to Pindaya,
a town located in Myan-
mar’s Shan State, which is
known for its limestone
caves that include more
than 8,000 carvings and
images of Buddha. Big,
small, cracked, shiny,
every imaginable type of
statue is crammed into the
cave that is open to the
public. Visitors take an
elevator up to the Shwe Oo
Min Pagoda and navigate
the cave like a maze,
making sure not to get
stuck in a dead end.
Earlier, I had taken in
Pindaya’s local market,
which runs every five days.
There, vendors sell a
variety of food, handicrafts,
electronics, and more.
Though the language bar-
rier was a constant issue, I
found everyone friendly
and helpful. When I ran
into a mobile phone shop to
seek out help with my SIM
card, it only took a few
hand gestures before the
store employees under-
stood that I needed help
connecting to the internet.
I later hopped back on
my bicycle and rode
throughout town before
heading to Pone Taloke
Lake, where I sat and
reflected on the fact that
despite the challenges of
navigating a new place and
an unknown language, the
people I met in Pindaya
were friendly, accommo-
dating, and eager to help.
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