A Russian trawler owing hundreds of thousands of dollars and carrying 70 tonnes of fish has apparently skipped New Zealand waters.
The Ministry of Fisheries has launched an investigation and is trying to track the Ascold.
Ministry spokesman Alan Meek said the trawler had unexpectedly sailed north from "somewhere in the Nelson area" at the weekend.
"It just suddenly headed north, which wasn't where it was expected to be going."
When the Ascold reached international waters outside New Zealand's exclusive economic zone the trawler switched off its locator beacon and failed to respond to radio calls.
Sources suggested yesterday that the Ascold might be heading for Mauritius, a primary port for landings of pirate-caught fish.
The Ascold is owned by a Vanuatu-registered company, Pacific Marine, and was fishing for Sealord quota species under contract to United Fisheries of Christchurch.
Ross Seal, spokesman for Far-Fish (Dalryba) NZ, the Ascold's New Zealand agent, said the company was cooperating in the investigation. "We're in close cooperation with the Ministry of Fisheries, so we're just awaiting advice from them as to what might happen," he said.
Far-Fish (Dalryba) was expected to release a statement later and would make no further comment.
The Nelson Mail reported that the trawler berthed at Lyttelton early this month to unload fish.
The Ascold sailed from Lyttelton on July 8 but its movements after that are unknown.
Port Nelson has no record of the vessel's arriving or leaving.
The ship was believed to have been carrying as much as 70 tonnes of hoki.
Mr Meek said the ministry investigation would centre on the "potential illegal taking of fish" and whether the trawler had left the country illegally.
It is understood the Ascold left owing debts to a number of New Zealand creditors.
Some of the creditors are understood to be owed a significant amount, estimated by one source to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Lyttelton company Stark Bros, which worked on the Ascold over the past year, says it is owed a "reasonably large amount" and has contacted the Vanuatu-based owner seeking payment.
Stark spokesman Andrew Stark said the company was still awaiting a reply.
"Just because the vessel has done a runner doesn't necessarily mean the owners are not going to pay," Mr Stark said. "But it's not looking too flash."
Mr Stark said everyone knew there was New Zealand fish on board the Ascold and it appeared that the vessel was not about to return.
"At the end of the day, we can jump up and down and we've got frigates patrolling the toothfish, but here, right under everybody's nose, piracy on the high seas has occurred by the look of it," he said.
As a creditor, Mr Stark said the company could move to have the trawler arrested at any port in the world, but big costs were involved. "At this stage I wouldn't like to go down that track. It obviously costs a significant amount of money."
Mr Stark said that sort of legal action would be an option for a "pool of creditors."
United Fisheries general manager Andre Kotzikas said he did not know how much fish the vessel was carrying or what it was worth.
Mr Kotzikas said this was not the first contract that United Fisheries had had with the vessel's owners, and the present situation was unusual.
Sealord Group could not be reached for comment.
- NZPA
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