Chile Strengthens Port Controls As China's Fishing Fleet Expands Logistics Network - Analysis

Chile has tightened mandatory port inspections of Chinese-flagged fishing vessels after a sharp rise in requests to call at its ports following China’s April 2025 accession to the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA). Sernapesca has been reviewing navigation histories, satellite tracking transmissions, cargo and planned routes to prevent activity inside Chile’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The surge illustrates how regulatory differences can redirect distant-water fleet logistics: Peru introduced stricter satellite-tracking rules, cutting Chinese vessel arrivals there to zero in 2025, while Chile’s numbers rose from under 10 to nearly 200. Chile’s inspections also address wider maritime-security concerns over dual-use capabilities and civil-military integration. A June 2026 operation targeted the Chinese vessel Ning Tai 97 at Talcahuano’s ASMAR facilities, with real-time monitoring supported by the Chilean Navy’s Monitoring and Analysis Center.