The Bangun Perkasa, left, and the cutter Munro. USCG photoA U.S. Coast Guard officer today briefed the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on what's planned for the suspected illegal high-seas driftnet vessel Bangun Perkasa.
A contractor today or tomorrow will begin "rat remediation" on the vessel at sea. Presumably this means extermination.
The de-ratting process will take a week. Meantime, the 22 crewmen aboard the vessel will be taken off and repatriated to their home countries.
Once rat-free, the Bangun Perkasa will be brought into Dutch Harbor, where National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration authorities will place the vessel under arrest.
Most likely, the ship will be auctioned. Its owner, said to be "in China somewhere," might buy the vessel back, and this could serve as the owner's fine, the Coast Guard officer said.