Departure of fishing ship delayed

Associated Press

A Taiwanese fishing vessel that was the scene of two killings 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 yesterday 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 today.

The attorneys want the ship seized and held until its owner, FCF Fishery Co. of Taiwan, pays the wages into a court-monitored account, said Myles Breiner, the attorney representing the Chinese crew of the Full Means 2.

The crew members can't leave with the ship because they are being held as witnesses in the fatal stabbing of their captain, Chen Chung-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.

Meanwhile, KITV reported last night 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.

Correction: Myles Breiner is an attorney representing the Chinese crew of the Full Means 2. His full name was not given in a previous version of this story.