End of Ryazanovka
Namibians have heaved a sigh of relief with the news that the Ryazanovka vessel is being cut up for scrap but, the threat to our marine animals is still there.
The fishing vessel, Ryazanovka, dubbed the 'killer vessel' for its link to a Chinese application to capture endangered and rare marine species off the coast of Namibia, has been sold to a Walvis Bay scrap company and was decommissioned yesterday. It was confirmed that a salvage company, based in Walvis Bay, finalised a deal with the owners of the vessel yesterday afternoon, and will begin to dismantle the 26-year-old vessel today, five months after she arrived at the Walvis Bay harbour from Lüderitz.
Crew were seen disembarking, ready to return to their home countries while the ship's equipment, including nets, rubber ducks, and other goods that are not for sale, were offloaded.
According to the Russian embassy in Windhoek last week, all crew members aboard were Russian citizens, except for two.
New operator
In late January, the Russian embassy in Windhoek confirmed to Namibian Sun that the Ryazanovka had been sold by its Russian owners to a new operator in July 2016.
Yury Tsvetkov, spokesperson at the embassy, explained that since 2013 the vessel had been “under long-term freight by a foreign (non-Russian) operator.”
He said in July 2016 “this operator and a Russian owner signed a sales contract for transfer of ownership for the vessel.”
The Russian embassy could not confirm the name of the company that purchased the vessel and had been leasing it since 2013.
However, in December, a public statement signed by Ilya Sharapov, a representative of Beijing Ruier Animal Breeding and Promoting Company, blasted the Namibian public and media, as well as the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, for the way in which their application had been handled and treated publicly.
Sharapov signed off the letter by listing himself as the “Master of STR Ryazanovka, Beijing Ruier Animal Breeding and Promoting Company.”
In the letter he confirmed that Beijing Ruier “owns the vessel Ryazanovka.”
Ryazanovka
He also confirmed the company's local partners are Welwitschia Aquatic and Wildlife Scientific Company, the local company that has been linked to Chinese millionaire Jack Huang's Sun Investment Group in Windhoek.
In an official response to Namibian Sun last month, the Russian embassy explained that according to maritime practice and the Russian maritime code, in cases of long-term freight, such as with the Ryazanovka since 2013, the “actual user, but not the owner, bears all the responsibility for the actions made by the crew and the vessel.”
Tsvetkov added that as such, all the actions made by the trawler over the course of its presence along the Namibian coast “were made on the instructions of the new owner and all responsibility is to be claimed by the new owner.”
The confirmation of the scrapping by a local salvage company has diminished widespread fears that the vessel would be used to catch a large number of marine species, including dolphins, whales, African penguins and seals, should a permit be approved.
The application, widely criticised by scientists for its inaccurate and false content on the state of Namibia's marine population, was submitted in March 2016 to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
The proposal was submitted locally by Jeff Huang, a close relative of fraud and money-laundering accused Jack Huang and a lawyer, Flora Gaes, in March or April 2016.
Documents seen by Namibian Sun show that both Jeff Huang and Gaes are listed as directors of Welwitschia Aquatic and Wildlife Scientific Research, on the applications submitted to the fisheries ministry.
The offices of Welwitschia are based at the same address as Jack Huang's Sun Investment Group in Windhoek.
During a telephone conversation with Namibian Sun last month, Gaes claimed she was only the legal advisor to Jeff Huang.
Gaes could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Despite the recent news on the scrapping, activists yesterday urged concerned members of the public to remain vigilant.
“The suspicion prevails that there is a replacement vessel out there,” members of the group 'Namibians against Plundering our Seas', a group that has been at the forefront of opposing the application, stated yesterday.
Moreover, the group highlighted the fact that the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, in particular minister Bernhardt Esau, has not yet commented on whether the proposal has been denied or approved.
“There has been no official response or notice from the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernhardt Esau, regarding the license application. This alone remains a huge and critical concern,” a post on the group's social media platform stated.
Fisheries permanent secretary Moses Maurihungirire yesterday said he was not aware on the latest status of the application and the minister, on whose desk the application still remains, has not provided feedback to date.
JANA-MARI SMITH
Crew were seen disembarking, ready to return to their home countries while the ship's equipment, including nets, rubber ducks, and other goods that are not for sale, were offloaded.
According to the Russian embassy in Windhoek last week, all crew members aboard were Russian citizens, except for two.
New operator
In late January, the Russian embassy in Windhoek confirmed to Namibian Sun that the Ryazanovka had been sold by its Russian owners to a new operator in July 2016.
Yury Tsvetkov, spokesperson at the embassy, explained that since 2013 the vessel had been “under long-term freight by a foreign (non-Russian) operator.”
He said in July 2016 “this operator and a Russian owner signed a sales contract for transfer of ownership for the vessel.”
The Russian embassy could not confirm the name of the company that purchased the vessel and had been leasing it since 2013.
However, in December, a public statement signed by Ilya Sharapov, a representative of Beijing Ruier Animal Breeding and Promoting Company, blasted the Namibian public and media, as well as the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, for the way in which their application had been handled and treated publicly.
Sharapov signed off the letter by listing himself as the “Master of STR Ryazanovka, Beijing Ruier Animal Breeding and Promoting Company.”
In the letter he confirmed that Beijing Ruier “owns the vessel Ryazanovka.”
Ryazanovka
He also confirmed the company's local partners are Welwitschia Aquatic and Wildlife Scientific Company, the local company that has been linked to Chinese millionaire Jack Huang's Sun Investment Group in Windhoek.
In an official response to Namibian Sun last month, the Russian embassy explained that according to maritime practice and the Russian maritime code, in cases of long-term freight, such as with the Ryazanovka since 2013, the “actual user, but not the owner, bears all the responsibility for the actions made by the crew and the vessel.”
Tsvetkov added that as such, all the actions made by the trawler over the course of its presence along the Namibian coast “were made on the instructions of the new owner and all responsibility is to be claimed by the new owner.”
The confirmation of the scrapping by a local salvage company has diminished widespread fears that the vessel would be used to catch a large number of marine species, including dolphins, whales, African penguins and seals, should a permit be approved.
The application, widely criticised by scientists for its inaccurate and false content on the state of Namibia's marine population, was submitted in March 2016 to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
The proposal was submitted locally by Jeff Huang, a close relative of fraud and money-laundering accused Jack Huang and a lawyer, Flora Gaes, in March or April 2016.
Documents seen by Namibian Sun show that both Jeff Huang and Gaes are listed as directors of Welwitschia Aquatic and Wildlife Scientific Research, on the applications submitted to the fisheries ministry.
The offices of Welwitschia are based at the same address as Jack Huang's Sun Investment Group in Windhoek.
During a telephone conversation with Namibian Sun last month, Gaes claimed she was only the legal advisor to Jeff Huang.
Gaes could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Despite the recent news on the scrapping, activists yesterday urged concerned members of the public to remain vigilant.
“The suspicion prevails that there is a replacement vessel out there,” members of the group 'Namibians against Plundering our Seas', a group that has been at the forefront of opposing the application, stated yesterday.
Moreover, the group highlighted the fact that the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, in particular minister Bernhardt Esau, has not yet commented on whether the proposal has been denied or approved.
“There has been no official response or notice from the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Bernhardt Esau, regarding the license application. This alone remains a huge and critical concern,” a post on the group's social media platform stated.
Fisheries permanent secretary Moses Maurihungirire yesterday said he was not aware on the latest status of the application and the minister, on whose desk the application still remains, has not provided feedback to date.
JANA-MARI SMITH
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