London ship insurers accused of enabling fishing vessels to ‘go dark’

Sustainably caught skipjack tuna is offloaded in the Maldives. Ships that ‘go dark’ are suspected of exploiting overfished tropical tuna stocks. Photograph: Paul Hilton/Greenpeace

When it comes to illegal fishing, London’s ancient business of ship insurance may not get much attention. But according to a new complaint, the UK capital’s insurance industry is partly to blame when fishing vessels “go dark” at sea by turning off their mandatory satellite tracking equipment.

In a filing to City of London watchdogs, the ocean conservation charity Blue Marine Foundation has argued that EU-flagged vessels operating in the Indian Ocean that go dark are in likely breach of international, flag state and coastal state law, and that the UK insurance industry is “enabling” them by continuing to provide cover, thereby putting seafarers’ lives at risk.