10 Cast Net: Alaska Fishing Vessels For Sale

Alaska Fishing Vessels For Sale

No one ever came forward to claim the storied and stateless "pirate" ship apparently caught illegally fishing on the high seas last year, so the government plans to seek forfeiture of the Bangun Perkasa in coming weeks so it can be sold, according to a report from the Unalaska community radio station KUCB. The 140-foot ship was seized by the U.S. Coast Guard five months ago some 2,600 miles southwest of Kodiak and is still tied up at the dock in Unalaska. But not for much longer. The fruitless search for the owner took a while, KUCB reports. "Not only was the information about this case sent directly to the contact number provided by the master, but in addition, notice of the lawsuit itself and the steps that needed to be taken to join the case and claim the vessel were translated into Chinese -- because that's the nationality of the crew -- and published several times in the Asian Wall Street Journal, in a seafood trade journal and even in the Anchorage Daily News," Assistant U.S. Attorney James Barkeley told the radio station.