The tuna vessel ‘Chokyu Maru No.68′ stranded in the early hours of April 16 on a New Zealand island, The Noises. The Japanese-flagged longliner was headed to Auckland when it grounded on the rocks at the small island. All 27 crew members remained uninjured. The mishap did not cause any oil spillage or pollution hazards but the vessel’s bow was damaged. Soon after the incident, it was refloated and moored in Auckland. Maritime New Zealand has begun investigations to find out what caused the accident.

The 48-meter long longliner built in 1988 has a 408 gross tonnage. According to the WCPFC vessel list, Yugen Kaisha Choky from Kochi owns the ‘Chokyu Maru No.68’ with home port Muroto. In another similar incident last month, a longliner ran aground on a Japanese island due to bad weather conditions, killing one crew member.

A Miami Court on Tuesday convicted Carlos Pólit, former Ecuadorian Comptroller General, of a multimillion-dollar international bribery and money laundering scheme. 73-year-old Pólit was charged with taking bribes from the Ecuadorian subsidiary of the Spanish Albacora Group, a Brazilian constriction company Odebrecht S.A, and insurance firm Seguros Sucre, during his tenure in government between 2007 and 2017.

The jury found Polit guilty of conspiracy to commit money laundering, concealment of money laundering, and engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. A federal district court judge will determine his sentence within 45 days [from finding guilty in court]. “As Comptroller General of Ecuador, Carlos was entrusted to protect the people of Ecuador from the misuse of public funds. Instead, he abused his position as a public official by soliciting and pocketing over USD 10 million in bribes and laundering illicit funds in Miami,” said Nicole Argentieri, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Pólit used the money to invest in real estate and to buy property in Florida, read a statement from the US Office of Public Affairs.

The two tuna-rich East African nations have entered into a pact to combat IUU fishing in their adjacent territorial waters. Seychelles and Comoros signed the agreement last Friday in Comoros ahead of the upcoming 28th Session of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission meeting to be held in Bangkok from May 13 to 17.

Jean-François Ferrari, Seychelles Minister of Fisheries, said both nations have been working closely to come up with an agreement as several IUU fishing incidents have taken place in Seychelles’ waters. He asserted the need for a framework to deal with the issue so it can be prevented in the future. Ferrari explained: “I am happy that we signed this agreement with Comoros this morning, as it formalizes our relationship and ensures that everything is done the right way, in the interest of both countries,” reported Seychelles news sites.