The authorities in French Polynesia have released an impounded Chinese fishing vessel after its owner paid a US1.5 million dollar bond.
Two weeks ago, the Ping Tai Rong 316 had been seized in Papeete because its owner had failed to remove another of its boats, which had run aground on Anuanurunga atoll.
Ping Tai Rong 316 Photo: wcpfc.int
The vessel belongs to the Ping Tai Rong Ocean Fishery Group which company paid the bond after the court rejected an injunction against the French Polynesian government's unprecedented move to block a fishing boat.
Last week, the government signalled a plan to adopt a local law which would ban certain ships from transiting through the territory's exclusive economic zone.
The transport minister, Jean-Christophe Bouissou, said action was needed because the government cannot afford spending millions to dismantle and remove wrecks and to have to chase their owners for compensation.
In July, the 40-metre-long Ping Tai Rong 49 hit the uninhabited atoll, which is about 720 kilometres south-east of Tahiti, while travelling in bad weather at night from the Cook Islands to waters near Pitcairn.
The ship was carrying about 120,000 litres of fuel, prompting an immediate despatch of a French navy team to contain a possible oil spill.
Ping Tai Rong 49 stranded at Anuanurunga atoll Photo: supplied French Armed Forces
Investigators found the longliner had a malfunctioning radar and used an incomplete map when it hit the atoll at cruising speed.
The vessel's captain and another crew member were taken to court in Papeete, accused of causing marine pollution and breaching navigation protocols.
Pending a trial, they were released last week and expected to leave Tahiti on the the Ping Tai Rong 316, but stopped by the ship's seizure.
In March last year, another Chinese fishing vessel ran aground on the reef of Arutua atoll, which is also in the Tuamotus.
