Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency intercepts Vietnamese fishing vessels off Kudat
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency intercepts Vietnamese fishing vessels off Kudat
KUDAT:
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) intercepted and thwarted an attempt by two Vietnamese fishing vessels (pic below) actively plundering the country's marine resources in the waters of Kudat, recently.
Kudat Maritime Zone Director Hasbullah Omar, said the success was the result of a tip-off received by the agency.
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He said following the information, the Kudat Maritime Zone patrol asset, Bot Cenderawasih 10, which was conducting Op Pluto Timur, Op Cegah Pati and Op Naga Timur, was deployed to the location.
'Upon arriving at the target area about 4.2 nautical miles northeast of Latoan Island, the operation team detected two Vietnamese vessels engaged in illegal fishing activities.
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'As the team approached, the suspects were seen cut their tow lines, leaving long trailing ropes at the stern of the vessels and installed iron bars on the left and right sides of the boats, refusing to cooperate when ordered to stop.
'However, their trick failed after a 15-minute chase, during which MMEA personnel successfully boarded the vessels to halt them,' he said.
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He said, upon inspection, both fishing boats were suspected of engaging in trawling and collecting sea cucumbers, as specially designed solid iron equipment for harvesting sea cucumbers was discovered.
He added that checks on both vessels also uncovered some 20kg of wet sea cucumbers and around 2,000 litres of diesel fuel.
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He said 11 Vietnamese nationals, aged between 25 and 54, were detained for lacking valid identification documents.
All detainees, along with seized items, including the vessels and marine products estimated to be worth over RM4 million, were escorted to the jetty for further investigation under the Fisheries Act 1985 and the Immigration Act 1956/63.
Hasbullah expressed MMEA's deepest gratitude for the cooperation extended by the public, particularly the maritime community around Kudat waters, for consistently providing information on crimes and misconduct in the area.
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