Trawler Seized in Case of Chinese Wading Ashore

Barnacles and seaweed clung to the rusting hull of the 60-foot fishing trawler. Inside, tiny cots lined a cramped bunkroom where authorities suspect that 10 illegal immigrants spent up to a month on their voyage from China to Orange County.

Federal authorities Friday impounded the sea-torn Fu Ching at the Port of Long Beach and detained the boat’s two crew members for questioning about the immigrants’ predawn landing.

The 10 men, naked and clinging to makeshift floats, waded ashore early Thursday in front of a mobile home park near Laguna Beach, where they were spotted by residents and detained later by police.

Lifesaving equipment the men left on the beach was emblazoned with the name “Fu Ching,” meaning Lucky Star, leading federal authorities to believe that the men were dropped off close to the coast by a boat bearing the same name. U.S. Coast Guard helicopters spotted the Fu Ching a few hours later 100 miles off San Diego.

The vessel, which is registered in the north Taiwanese port of Kee Lung, was reported missing May 11, when its owner lost contact with the crew close to Hawaii, according to Taiwanese government officials.

The boat had been fishing alone, and authorities remain unsure whether the crew was hijacked or simply wanted to stop communicating with the vessel’s owner, said Ellen Chen, an official at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Honolulu.

Authorities believe that the 10 men started their journey in a different boat that took them from mainland China to Taiwan. Based on early statements from the men, officials said the men switched vessels at least once.

At the Port of Long Beach, a tugboat crew member described the Fu Ching as run-down but in working condition.

“It’s very lived-in,” said Jay Calhoun. “It’s a little grubby, but it’s an older ship.”

U.S. immigration agents continued questioning the 10 captured men Friday at a detention center in Santa Ana. The men will be appointed attorneys next week, said Francisco Arcaute, a spokesman for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He provided no more details about the case.

Although smuggling of immigrants by sea has declined in recent years, many Chinese still try to make the perilous journey.

Coast Guard officials have reported seeing more Taiwan-registered fishing boats with crews from mainland China. The crews may then mutiny near the coast of Guam, Canada or the United States, forcing the master to drop them off close to shore.