Customs Crackdown: U.S. blocks Fiji fishing boat from unloading, citing forced labor and debt bondage

Customs officials have blocked a commercial fishing boat from bringing tuna and other seafood into the United States, citing what they said was the use of forced labor by its operator, a company based in Fiji. The Customs and Border Protection agency said on Wednesday that it had found that operators of Hangton No. 112,a long-liner owned by the Hangton Pacific Co. Pte Ltd., had withheld workers’ wages, kept their identity documents and subjected them to debt bondage. If the vessel tries to dock at a U.S. port, or distribute its cargo in the country, officials said, its cargo would be held until its operator could prove that the fish were not caught using what the agency has described as “modern-day slavery.” >click to read< 10:35

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