Judge blocks murder-scene ship from leaving port

Associated Press

HONOLULU — A Taiwanese fishing vessel that was the scene of two murders at sea remained in Honolulu Harbor under a temporary restraining order sought by its Chinese crew members.

A skeleton replacement crew of Japanese sailors arrived Friday morning and had planned to set sail within 48 hours.

But the departure was delayed today when attorneys for the Chinese crew members obtained the federal court order sought to ensure they are paid past wages.

The order signed by U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway barred Anne Stevens, the ship's agent in Honolulu, or anyone else from moving the Full Means 2 until tomorrow.

"We're concerned that the 30 crew members are going to be left without a penny," said one of their attorneys, Myles Breiner.

The attorneys want the ship seized and held until its owner, FCF Fishery Co. of Taiwan, pays the wages into a court-monitored account, Breiner said.

The crew members can't leave with the ship because they are being held as witnesses in the fatal stabbing of their captain, Chen Sung-she of Taiwan, and first mate, Li Da Feng of China. The ship's cook, Lei Shi, 21, of China, was charged with killing the two men during an argument, then hijacking the vessel on the high seas March 14.

Attorney General John Ashcroft is to decide if the death penalty will be sought.

Meanwhile, television station KITV reported tonight that the vessel's manifest listed 2.6 metric tons of shark fins, worth up to $500,000, in the ship's hold.

Shark finning was essentially banned in Hawai'i in 2000.

The crew's attorneys told KITV that under Hawai'i law, the ship could be seized by the state if even one of the fins is brought ashore.

Finning involves hauling sharks aboard a ship and slicing off their fins. Sometimes the still-living fish are dumped back into the ocean, where they are eaten, bleed to death or drown.

Shark fins are used for pricey Asian soups and touted as medicinal remedies.