By Alicia Gutiérrez | 2025-04-16

SANTIAGO -- In its efforts to evade port inspections, a Chinese fishing fleet operating off South America has been linked to a series of serious incidents including deaths, disappearances at sea, untreated illnesses and widespread labor and human-rights abuses.

A February report by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) identified this fleet as having the highest number of human-rights violations in the global fishing industry.

Titled "Labour Exploitation in Distant Water Fishing Vessels Registered with the SPRFMO (South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization)," the report documents dozens of worker deaths aboard Chinese vessels, citing alarming patterns of abuse and exploitation.

Uruguayan researcher Sabina Goldaracena and Argentine Sergio Almada presented the report at the 13th meeting of the SPRFMO, held in Santiago, Chile, from February 17-21.

The findings were based on data from official agencies in Peru, Uruguay, Argentina and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), and shed light on the fishing operations of China, South Korea, Portugal and Lithuania in the Pacific and Atlantic waters off southern Latin America.

"Between 2013 and 2023, 66 crew members from 59 vessels registered with the SPRFMO were received deceased at regional ports or went missing after falling into the sea," the report states.

Conditions for sick and injured crew members were found to be equally dire.

The report notes that the majority of the vessels involved -- 38 out of 59 -- were sailing under the Chinese flag.

Slavery and death

In an interview with Entorno, Goldaracena outlined the factors behind the alarming number of deaths aboard distant water fishing vessels.

Chief among them, she said, is the widespread practice of transshipment --transferring catches to merchant vessels at sea rather than docking in port. This allows ships to remain at sea indefinitely, keeping crews isolated for months, sometimes years, with no access to medical care.

"The lack of port calls means that in cases of illness, crew members have virtually no chance of receiving proper treatment," she said.

Beyond isolation and the absence of healthcare, Goldaracena cited brutal working conditions as a major driver of onboard deaths.

"Fishermen often work extreme hours -- sometimes up to 20 hours a day, without a single day off," she said, referring to a documented case involving a Chinese-flagged vessel where workers were locked into two-year contracts.

"The toll of prolonged exhaustion weakens the immune system and diminishes the ability to react to danger," she said. "These inhumane conditions heighten the risk of accidents, illness -- and ultimately, death."

The findings align with a separate investigation published by The Outlaw Ocean Project in October 2023, which detailed the slave-like conditions endured by workers aboard Chinese fishing vessels.

The report "A Fleet Prone to Captive Labor and Plunder" described how inadequate medical care, extreme isolation and physical exhaustion have led to frequent deaths at sea.

One case captured global attention in June 2023, when a message in a bottle washed ashore on a beach in Punta del Este, Uruguay, -- about 110km east of Montevideo.

"Hello, I am a crew member of the ship Lu Qing Yuan Yu 765, and I was locked up by the company," the handwritten note read. "When you see this paper, please help me call the police! S.O.S. S.O.S."

The distress call highlighted the desperation of workers trapped aboard distant water vessels for months, sometimes years, without reprieve.

In response to the allegations, the ship's operator, Qingdao Songhai Fishery, denied the claims, dismissing them as fabrications by disgruntled crew members.

Chinese companies with criminal records

The ITF report focused on two Chinese firms: Rongcheng Homey Ocean Fishing, which operates six vessels with documented criminal records, and Rongcheng Rongyuan Fishery, owner of 50 fishing boats and four cargo ships.

Among the most serious incidents was the 2020 capture of the Lu Rong Yuan Yu 668 in Argentina's territorial waters, where it was caught fishing illegally. The ship attempted to flee and resisted arrest.

Investigators found evidence of suspicious crew deaths, including one case where a body was stored in a ship's hold for seven months. Crew members were disembarked in Peruvian and Uruguayan ports with life-threatening injuries and untreated medical conditions.

These are not isolated cases, the report warns, but part of a broader pattern of labor exploitation and human-rights violations at sea.

"The conditions and environment in which these vessels operate confirm that crimes against crew members are frequent," the report states. "Yet only a fraction are ever reported or investigated."

A culture of invisibility, authors argue, leaves victims defenseless and perpetrators unpunished.