This vessel was inspected by BIOT authorities on 29 August 2020. The vessel was not on the current IOTC Record of Authorised Vessels and had no authorisation from its flag state to fish on the high seas. The vessel was fishing illegally without a licence within BIOT waters at the time of inspection. The vessel had fishing gear in the water within BIOT and the Captain was requested to haul the gear, the subsequent catch included one dead shark only. This vessel owner is a repeat offender. The vessel was previously detained in BIOT waters in 2017 and was not IUU listed by the Compliance Committee at the time as Sri Lanka had indicated it would prosecute the owner. After the incident in 2017 VMS was installed on the vessel yet flag State controls appear not to have been applied to monitor the activities of the vessel in 2020 based on VMS. Sri Lanka later detained the vessel in port and a trial date for the owner was set for 28 June 2021. This vessel was included in the IOTC IUU list on 9 June 2021 due to having unmarked gear and for operating within the IOTC convention area without authorisation.
