New Zealand fishing giant Sealord is forking out NZD 300,000 (€165,903/$195,940) on private jets to complete a crew change in Mauritius, reports Stuff.co.nz.
The crew have been fishing in the Indian Ocean for the past six months.
A 23,000-kilometer round-trip, costing around NZD 300,000 (€165,903/$195,940), is due to take off from Christchurch this week to relieve crew members of the vessel Will Watch.
After exploring a number of different options, Sealord resorted to chartering two private jets to get five mainly Nelson-based crew to Mauritius and seven crew over there back home.
Will Watch catches alfonsino and orange roughy in the Southern Indian Ocean from its base in Mauritius.
The vessel’s 42 Kiwi and Filipino nationals have been fishing since February and were due to come home in April.
However, the emergence of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns in New Zealand and Mauritius thwarted those plans.
