Four crewmen seriously injured and a total loss was the result of a fire that broke out Thursday night in a Korean flagged fishing vessel docked in the port of Montevideo and was still burning Friday morning.
The Korean fishing group Insung signed this week an letter of intent with a Brazilian consortium for the construction of a ship yard in the Rio Grande/Pelotas area , state of Rio Grande do Sul, which could cater to the Korean fishing vessels operating in the “Falklands/Malvinas” area.
Three Korean jiggers which normally spend off-season time in Montevideo have moored in the port of Fray Bentos on the River Uruguay, as part of the de-centralization process launched by Uruguayan port authorities.
The European Commission is planning to reform the EU fishing industry by giving vessels quota shares guaranteed for periods of at least 15 years. The commission will issue a proposal on reforming the Common Fisheries Policy, CFP, in July, to take effect in 2013.
Fifteen Spanish flagged fishing vessels will no longer operate in Montevideo because labour claims disputes with crew members can include vessel seizures or significant collateral deposits demands by the Uruguayan justice before they can return to sea.
The search for 17 people missing after a Korean long-liner sank in Antarctic waters the Southern Ocean early Monday has been scaled down as it becomes increasingly unlikely further survivors will be found.
Seven Spanish fishing companies from Vigo that make up the Association of Fishing Communities and Joint Ventures (Acemix) plan to invest an estimated 120 million Euros in new ships to renew their fleet operating in third countries among which Namibia, Argentina, Senegal and the Falkland Islands.
Uruguayan authorities begun this week surprise and random safety inspections of fishing vessels docked in the port of Montevideo following a succession of fire incidents, mostly involving Korean flagged vessels which were described as “suspicious”.
The Falklands/Malvinas dispute between Argentina and the UK is having its effects on the (Spanish) Galician fleet in the Southwest Atlantic, where most of its vessels operating under the Falklands flag are continually being “harassed” by Argentine patrol vessels, reports El Faro de Vigo in an interview with Javier Touza, president of the Vigo Ship Owners cooperative.
A Spanish flagged trawler that operates in Falkland Islands waters and was heading to Montevideo to unload 700 tons of fish was denied “innocent pass” through Argentine waters and had to steam an additional 17 hours at a cost of 7.000 litres of fuel.