The ship was built in 1980 as an oil tanker for a Norwegian company, and was christened Freeport Chief, since then, it has been renamed Dorsetshire (1990), Protank Orinoco (1991), Vemacape (2009), Lafayette (2014), Damanzaihao and now Vladivostok 2000. In 2008 the vessel was converted to a fish factory, with the ability to store, freeze, process and transfer fish and ship in a China shipyard. This ship can process up to 547.000 metric tons of fish each year.

General characteristics of Damanzaihao

In 2014, the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management (SPRFMO) put Damanzaihao on a draft list of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) vessels —bureaucratic speak for a pirate fishing boat. Following a review, its listing was confirmed in 2015 and fined $800,000 which remains unpaid.

In May 2018, agents from the Peruvian Environmental Prosecutor’s Office boarded the vessel as part of an federal criminal investigation based on presumed acts of illegal fishing. This latest criminal case was predicated on the same acts of illegal fishing that led to the imposition of a multi-million dollar fine in 2016. Peruvian authorities also accused the Damanzaihao of polluting the marine environment through the illegal discharge of fluids and effluents while anchored in Chimbote. At the time, Sea Shepherd vessel M/V John Paul DeJoria was in Peruvian waters gathering intelligence to assist the Peruvian Government.

January 19-21/ 2019, SPRFMO’s 6th Compliance and Technical Committee Meeting was held in The Hague, where the SPRFMO reviewed all information surrounding the Damanzaihao. The SPRFMO decided to keep the fish factory vessel on its IUU List. SPRFMO also found that China, Panama and Cook Islands were not in compliance with conservation and management measures to combat IUU fishing and issued them a “priority non-compliance” status, which reflects violations to SPRFMO regulations. 

According to en.wikipedia and The Maritime Executive.