KUALA TERENGGANU: The Terengganu Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has detained a Vietnamese registered fishing boat about 135 nautical miles off Kuala Terengganu after it was detected to be fishing illegally in Malaysian waters on Saturday morning (Jan 14).
Terengganu state MMEA director, maritime captain Mohd KhairulAnuar Abd Majid, said that they detected a suspicious boat which was fishing and when approached, the fishing boat tried in vain to make a get away.
KhairulAnuar said that they reacted swiftly to intercept and detain the boat which had a foreign registration number.
"The boat which was from Vietnam was detained during Op Naga Barat and Kuda Laut was being enforced at around 9am on Saturday morning (Jan 14) and as a result of checks and inspections, the boat's captain failed to produce the necessary documentation and a valid licence.
"Further checks and inspections on the boat found that the captain and the seven crew members onboard were Vietnamese nationals between 21 to 54-years-old," he said via a statement here today (Jan 16).
KhairulAnuar said that all of them were detained and they did not have any form of documentation, identification papers or valid foreign work permits on them.
According to him, the boat and all the fishing equipment on board including a catch weighing in at 150 kg and 100 litres of diesel were confiscated with an estimated value of RM1 million.
"The boat's captain and crew have been sent to MMEA Terengganu for further action.
"The case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act of 1985 for not having any licence or work permit to carry out fishing activities in the country's waters and under the Immigration Act of 1959/1963 for not having valid identification documents," he said.
Khairulanuar stressed that Terengganu MMEA was committed in carrying out their duties and responsibilities in enforcing the law and ensuring that foreign fishermen do not encroach into Malaysian waters.
