TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Advocates say making Wi-Fi mandatory on all fishing boats operating out of Taiwan could have prevented the death of a fisher, and “flag of convenience” rules are being used by Taiwan authorities to skirt responsibility for taking action.
Fisher Sikry Elmadem Subu was contracted by a Kaohsiung-based firm to work on a fishing vessel named Longbow 7, and died aboard the boat on Dec. 31. His body remained on the vessel for more than two months after his death, and a certificate that was provided after he was disembarked showed he died from acute gastroenteritis and fluid in the lungs, according to an Indonesian report.
The Jakarta-headquartered Union of Indonesian Migrant Workers (SBMI) provided a statement to Taiwan News demanding Taiwan’s government take action. The union said allegations that Sikry was not provided with proper healthcare before his death must be investigated.
The Longbow 7 was flying the flag of Vanuatu at the time of Sikry’s death, though SMBI said this should not prevent an investigation. “The Taiwanese government must still be responsible for the recruitment and placement process carried out by agencies in Taiwan.”
Fishers who worked on the Longbow 7 said their work contracts stated the boat would fly the flag of Taiwan, though the employer denied this. Taiwan News has seen English and Indonesian language contracts that say the Taiwan flag would be flown, but the employer said this was a mistake, and that the Chinese language contracts correctly stated the vessel would fly the flag of Vanuatu.
In response to Taiwan News’ queries about the case, Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency said because the Longbow 7 is legally registered to use the Vanuatu flag it is subject to Vanuatu law. The agency said it would “notify the ship’s country of origin through diplomatic channels” to handle them.
“If the ship enters a Taiwan port, our department will invite the Immigration Department, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Labor, and others to conduct inter-ministerial joint inspections,” the agency said.
Adrian (who requested his full name be withheld for fear of damaging his future work prospects) was working on the Longbow 7 when Sikry died. “We often found that the food we were eating had expired, and the medicines had also expired - they really need to fix this issue,” Adrian said.
“There was plenty of rice, but everything else was really lacking,” including fruit and vegetables, he said. He said going into the third month of the voyage food supplies began to run low, and bait fish was often cooked for the crew.
Adrian also said there was rust in the vessel's drinking water, and that it tasted of metal. An Indonesian chef on board said that the food he was provided to cook was sometimes “rancid,” and in many instances expired.
These claims cannot be independently verified by Taiwan News. However, one Taiwanese labor law expert said that for this reason, it is clear what needs to be done.
“This is exactly why we need our government to investigate,” assistant professor of law at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Chiu Yu-fan (邱羽凡) said. “We were not on the boat, and they cannot provide more evidence, but we know someone died,” she said.
She said that the government can investigate the fishers’ claims based on a 2016 law enacted to govern the operation of foreign-flagged vessels. Chiu noted that this approach has been successfully applied in the past.
According to the law, those who are found to have engaged in forced labor by an international organization or a foreign government can have their right to own or invest in a ship that flies a foreign flag revoked. Intimidation, threats, deception, restriction of movement, and isolation are among those on the International Labor Organization’s list of criteria for determining instances of forced labor.
Chiu said that Taiwan has many laws to protect fishermen and other migrant workers on paper. “But when a real case presents itself, they will say they don’t have enough manpower to deal with it, it is so far away, and they can’t initiate any investigation,” she said.
Fishers’ advocacy group Stella Maris, who has lodged a complaint with the Fisheries Agency regarding the case, said this was a factor. The Fisheries Agency told the group there were insufficient staff resources to interview each of the fishermen on the Longbow 7 personally, a representative said.
Advocates say requiring Wi-Fi to be installed on all of Taiwan’s fishing vessels could have prevented Sikry’s death. “We don't know when Sikry’s symptoms began and if they could have been addressed via telehealth before they became serious,” Deputy Director of the Global Labor Justice-International Labor Rights Forum Valery Alzaga said.
“We also don’t know if the conditions on the vessel played any part in why Sikry fell ill - the isolation and lack of transparency means that many questions remain,” she said. “The fact that much of Sikry’s case is still shrouded in mystery - from his last days to the process for repatriating his body - shows exactly why Wi-Fi for fishers is important,” she said.
Members of GLJ-ILRF, the Indonesian fisher’s union in Taiwan FOSPI, and others met with Taiwan Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) in September as part of an ongoing campaign to call for Wi-Fi on all Taiwan fishing boats. The Fisheries Agency told Taiwan News that after the fishers meeting with the premier, no timeframe has been set for creating regulations that require fishing boats to install Wi-Fi for crew members.
The agency said 116 fishing vessels in Taiwan's fleet are equipped with Wi-Fi, and on 92 of those, the service is made available to the crew. There are more than 2,000 distant water fishing vessels in Taiwan's fleet, according to agency estimates.
The Fisheries Agency also said that it plans to roll out increased subsidies to encourage vessel owners to install Wi-Fi in 2025.
