# Ocean Accountability — Uruguay
2026-09-08 · en

Crew welfare and the port records that can reveal what happened offshore.

## Deaths and disappearances need individual files
ITF’s regional study collects crew-death and disappearance records across multiple flags. A port connection does not establish that a death happened there or that every case was homicide. [S07]

## A voyage linked to a later import restriction
The Zhen Fa 7 file connects crew-abuse reporting involving the South American fishing grounds and Montevideo with a U.S. import order issued in May 2025. The administrative measure is not a criminal verdict. [S42, S45]

## Support can be lawful and still be informative
Carrier, fuel and port-service records help reconstruct voyages and opportunities for inspection. A commercial relationship alone does not establish knowing assistance in abuse. [S05]

## Open research questions
- Seek public arrival, death-registration, investigation and repatriation outcomes without publishing private witness or medical details.
- Follow wage claims and compensation through payment, not just an order or demand.
- Link port calls to stable vessel identifiers and dated operators rather than similar ship names.

Montevideo is a point for investigating access to help and accountability. Crew nationality, vessel flag and jurisdiction of an incident remain separate fields.

## Case files
- C05 — The people behind the port records: https://oceanaccountability.com/cases/people-at-sea/
- C19 — Zhen Fa 7: from crew-abuse reporting to a U.S. import hold: https://oceanaccountability.com/cases/zhen-fa-7/
- C08 — The ships that keep a fleet at sea: https://oceanaccountability.com/cases/offshore-support/
- C09 — A vessel, a death record, an unresolved labor trail: https://oceanaccountability.com/cases/wei-yu-18/

## Sources
- S07 — Labour exploitation in distant water fishing vessels registered with the SPRFMO (International Transport Workers’ Federation): https://www.itfglobal.org/sites/default/files/node/resources/files/250212-Squid-Fishing-digital-_0.pdf
- S42 — CSMS 65176258: Withhold Release Order on Seafood Harvested by Zhen Fa 7 (U.S. Customs and Border Protection): https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDHSCBP/bulletins/3e282c2
- S45 — A Fleet Prone to Captive Labor and Plunder (The Outlaw Ocean Project): https://theoutlawocean.com/investigations/china-the-superpower-of-seafood/a-fleet-prone-to-captive-labor-and-plunder/
- S05 — Keeping the Lights On: Uncovering the Networks Enabling the Distant Water Squid Fleet (C4ADS; Sara Nix): https://c4ads.org/reports/keeping-the-lights-on/

https://oceanaccountability.com/countries/uruguay/
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