Bandit 6

Illegal fishing vessels like the Bandit 6 do not report their catch, violating the regulations set by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources.

[2] In November 2014, Sea Shepherd launched Operation Icefish, a campaign against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Southern Ocean.

[3] Four of the ships, Kunlun, Songhua, Viking and Yongding had at one point been owned by Vidal Armadores, a Spanish company associated with toothfish poaching.

[4][5] In December 2014, the Sea Shepherd vessels MV Bob Barker and MY Sam Simon sailed to the Southern Ocean in search of the Bandit Six.

[4] Three of the boats, Kunlun, Songhua and Yongding, were spotted and stopped by the New Zealand Navy patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington.

The chase covered over 10,000 nautical miles and lasted 110 days, the longest pursuit of an illegal fishing boat on record.

[10] The Australian Fisheries Management Authority alerted other governments in the area about the Perlon, and when the ship arrived in Malaysia in May, it was detained.

[11] On 19 May, Peter Hammarstedt, captain of the MV Bob Barker, was on sabbatical in Mindelo, Cape Verde, when he noticed a familiar-looking ship had arrived at the port.