13 Oct 2011

Charges laid against crew of Korean vessel

6:23 pm on 13 October 2011

A Korean fishing vessel which has been the subject of two New Zealand Government investigations is being taken to court.

The Ministry of Fisheries has laid 26 charges against five officers including the captain of the Oyang 75.

The charges relate to fishing above the available quota and other serious fisheries offences.

The Department of Labour is also investigating claims by several Indonesian crew members who say they were mistreated while on board.

They say they were overworked, underpaid, and were verbally and physcially abused at work.

Six of the crew have chosen to stay on in Christchurch until the dispute is settled.