The International Transport Federation says it has reported a Taiwanese and an Indonesian crewing agent to Interpol for suspected human trafficking after 74 Indonesian fishers working on board seven Taiwanese vessels were abandoned in September, 2013 in Cape Town, South Africa. It is alleged that the agents withheld the fishers’ wages, in some cases for over a year; produced counterfeit documents relating to crew members’ employment; and charged the fishers [fees] before they boarded the vessel. ITF/IUF fisheries programme leader, Liz Blackshaw, said: “The fishing industry has a very serious human trafficking problem. Whenever we come across a suspected case like this one, we report it to Interpol. “In this case, it appears the men were captives on their vessels for months without wages.
