Seamen waiting for travel papers
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
Nine rescued Chinese seamen remained in federal custody here last night, waiting for travel documents for their return to China, while the Immigration and Naturalization Service tried to find out if anyone harbored them illegally during their 10-day disappearance.
Meanwhile, the Hawaiian Humane Society, using the services of a fishing vessel in the area, continued to search for a dog left aboard the men's ship when they were rescued April 2.
"We still have hope," said Humane Society spokeswoman Eve Holt. "She's a very young dog, and we are continuing the search."
The crew members, all rescued from the burning refueling tanker Insiko 1907 some 220 miles south of the Big Island, dropped out of sight the next day after being taken to a Waikiki hotel, but turned themselves in Saturday afternoon.
David Gulick, acting INS district director, said the men can't return to China until they receive travel documents from the Chinese embassy in Los Angeles, but that officials still hoped they could be released by week's end.
Asked if the men might be required to remain longer as witnesses against anyone who may have harbored them illegally, Gulick said courts have accepted video-taped depositions from such witnesses in previous cases, allowing them to leave the jurisdiction.
Knowingly and intentionally harboring such individuals is punishable under federal law by up to five years in prison.
Gulick said the INS is investigating to determine why the men dropped out of sight, where they were and what they were doing during their absence.
The captain of the ship, who discovered the crew missing from their hotel April 3, returned to Taiwan on April 6 along with a crew member who was treated here for burns.
Another crew member died March 13 at sea in a shipboard fire that cut power and left the tanker adrift for 20 days before the rest of the crew was rescued.
Humane Society spokeswoman Holt said it continues to receive donations, now more than $30,000, to support the $50,000 effort to find the ship and rescue the captain's 2-year-old dog, Forgea.
Although the society has heard some criticism of spending that much money to try to rescue a dog, Holt said, the percentage of people saying they approve of the effort has increased from about 70 percent to 90 percent.
She said the effort, supported in large part by the Humane Society of the United States, does not take money away from animal rescue and care in Hawai'i, because the contributions being sent are "new money" that would not otherwise be donated.
The response, Holt said, is similar to the extra generosity that concerned people exhibit when disasters occur.
Reach Walter Wright at wwright@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8054.
