News
The Trap was Sprung: Two Vessels Busted for Transshipping in Liberia
Tuesday, 29 Apr, 2025
After more than a month of careful planning, the Sea Shepherd vessel the Age Of Union and its crew have assisted the Liberian Coast Guard to arrest the illegal fishing trawler Guo Ji 828 and Gavin—a former fishing vessel converted into a refueling tanker—as the two vessels tied up at sea, a distance of more than 49 nautical miles seaward from Monrovia, the capital of the West African country of Liberia. Under the cover of darkness, the Liberian Coast Guard snuck up on the two vessels, using small boats covertly launched from Age of Union, while Guo Ji 828 took on bunkers from the refueling tanker.
“Once the Liberian Coast Guard saw that a fuel hose was running between the two ships, we turned on our flashing blue lights before assisting the Coast Guard to hurriedly climb aboard the two ships, arresting them in the act,” said Baptiste Brebel, captain of Age of Union.
Weeks of intelligence gathering suggested that a fleet of six industrialized trawlers, that routinely fishes off the coast of Liberia, would regularly meet up with a refueling tanker at sea to bunker, despite being legally prohibited from doing so. The Liberian Coast Guard and Sea Shepherd were able to narrow down the possible transshipment area to one place and began to stake it out.
Transshipment of fuel at sea is highly regulated because of its impact on fisheries, the economic development of coastal states and the marine environment. It is prohibited in Liberia without special authorization.
By refueling out at sea and out of sight of government regulators, fishing vessels can maximize their time fishing, foregoing the time needed to transit back to port to take on fuel. Fishing companies can evade taxes, bolstering profits while denying authorities of developing countries critical tax revenue.
Potential oil spills are more likely to go undetected by shore-based monitoring authorities, and the ability to respond to any pollution incident is greatly reduced.
On board Guo Ji 828, the captain of the trawler presented the Coast Guard boarding officer with his Liberian Industrial Fishing License, where a section that allows for special considerations including ‘bunkering at sea’ had been checked ‘no’.
Meanwhile, the captain of Gavin was unable to provide a valid Vessel Safety Certificate, despite transferring fuel to other vessels in Liberian waters.
Liberian Coast Guard sailors determined that Gavin was not designed for the safe transport of fuel. Fuel was carried in a fish hold and was stored in 61 plastic Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) of 1,000 liters each, which are not designed to carry fuel and lack suitable piping, a significant fire hazard.
“This ship was an accident waiting to happen, the maritime equivalent of illegally driving around the country in a poorly ventilated truck that hasn’t passed inspection, its box trailer full of plastic jugs of diesel that it transfers to cars parked in sensitive environmental areas using a funnel and a siphon hose,” said Captain Baptiste Brebel."
Captain Baptiste Brebel
Neither Guo Hi 828 nor Gavin carried any oil spill prevention equipment. Both vessels were placed under arrest and were escorted to the Freeport of Monrovia where they remain detained.
Since 2017, Sea Shepherd Global has partnered with the Liberian Coast Guard to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing through joint at-sea patrols under the direction of Liberia’s Minister of National Defense, the Honorable Brigadier Gen (Ret.) Geraldine Janet George. To date, 24 vessels have been arrested for illegal fishing and other crimes through the collaboration named Operation Sola Stella.
On February 11, 2019, Sea Shepherd Global was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) by former Liberian President Dr. George Manneh Weah in recognition of the success of Operation Sola Stella. The DSO is the highest military award given by the Ministry of National Defense and the Armed Forces of Liberia, recognizing exceptional service to the Republic of Liberia.