Falklands : Falklands Fishing Boat Detained by the Argentines
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 22.02.2006 (Article Archived on 08.03.2006)
The BBC's Graham Bound inquires about the JOHN CHEEK's legal position in Argentina.
FALKLANDS FISHING BOAT DETAINED BY THE ARGENTINES
A Report for BBC World Service “Calling the Falklands” by Graham Bound (GB) 02/21/22
There was drama at sea on Monday, as the Argentines arrested a Falklands registered ship, the JOHN CHEEK for allegedly operating illegally in their waters. The ship, which is operated by a Spanish, Chilean and Peruvian crew and owned by the Falklands company, Petrel Fishing, was being escorted to the Southern Port of Comodoro Rivadavia. According to a press release from Petrel Fishing, a spokesman for Petrel Fishing has said the ship was operating in International waters when it was stopped by the Argentine Coast Guard. Daniel Schweinberger (DS), the BBC’s man in Buenos Aires, earlier today brought me up to date with the story.
DS: the latest that we’ve heard is that the fishing vessel, JOHN CHEEK has actually arrived in Comodoro Rivadavia, where it’s going to be detained by the Argentine authorities. Speaking recently, in the last few minutes to the Argentine Foreign Ministry, they are saying that they are waiting until they’ve got all the documents in place before they decide whether they are going to present a formal complaint to London. And, also speaking to the British Embassy here, they said they are well aware of the situation and they are also monitoring the situation before they decide what action they may be able to take.
GB: So clearly this is being seen as having more potential than a straight forward legal case of alleged infringement on territorial Waters.
DS: That’s quite possible. Again, all sides are saying they are waiting to evaluate who the ship – the ship was flying the Falkland Islands flag – all sides have confirmed that. But they want to confirm who the ship belongs to. If the JOHN CHEEK with 31 members of crew onboard – no Islanders as far as we are aware – there are mostly Peruvians, Chileans and Spanish crew onboard the ship – but I think all sides are waiting to evaluate exactly what it was doing there, who it belongs to – how it came to be, as the Argentines say, in Argentine territorial waters, before they decide what action they are going to take.
GB: What about reaction in the press, if any?
DS: Looking at the main newspapers here, they are covering the issue. It was certainly on television in a fairly prominent position on the news throughout Monday but people aren’t really commenting on it. I think at this stage they are reporting the incidents, saying that it’s happened. I see no political reaction at this stage. As we know the Falkland Islands are always a sensitive issue in Argentina but no comment at this stage. I think until we hear officially from the Argentine Government what response they may be taking, we are not going to hear a great deal of comment in the media here.
GB: Apart from the potentially complicated diplomatic aspects of all of this, what about the legal procedure because I am sure that the Argentine Fisheries Authorities have arrested vessels in the past. Do we know what that straight forward legal procedure – quite apart from the diplomacy – might be?
DS: In the past, what’s happened is they have either imposed a heavy fine on the fishing vessels they detained or they seized their catch. In this case, we understand that the JOHN CHEEK was carrying something like 100tonnes of squid and hake – obviously worth a fair amount of money. And, that’s something that could be seized by the authorities. I think it’s early days at this stage and I think all sides are monitoring the situation to see what legal procedures they should be taking.
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