By Abul Kalam Azad & Charlotte Pamment BBC Bengali
16 April 2020
Bangladeshi operators bought the four super trawlers moored in the port and claim they have rights to use them to fish.
Two of the four vessels, Sea View and Sea Wind, originally of Thai origin, are subject to an Interpol notification for illegally fishing in Somalia.
International monitoring organisations OceanMind and the International Justice Mission (IJM) have been following the super trawlers since 2018 and confirmed, using satellite imagery, the presence of both vessels in Chittagong port.
Under international law Bangladesh must notify the government of Somalia about the presence of Sea View and Sea Wind in its waters.
When asked about the blacklisted vessels, Capt Giasuddin Ahmed said: "We are not aware of the presence of Sea View and Sea Wind vessels.
"They first entered Bangladesh with the excuse of repair work, but they were later expelled."
The BBC approached the Bangladeshi government for comment and was told the fisheries department was closed because of the coronavirus outbreak and the minister was unable to respond
https://theunionjournal.com/bangladesh- ... -to-brink/