MIRI: A foreign vessel with 18 crew members from Vietnam was detained by the district Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) last Friday morning (Aug 28) at Tanjung Baram for encroaching into Malaysian waters.
According to Miri MMEA director, Captain Md Fauzi Othman, the vessel was detained for suspicious activity around 135 nautical miles off the area around 12.30am.
“The 18 crew members aged between 19 and 40 have been taken to Pulau Melayu jetty detention centre for further investigation,” he said.
Seventeen of them failed to produce any identification document during the operation.
“All of them underwent Covid-19 tests carried out by the Health Ministry,” Md Fauzi said.
The case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 and the Immigration Act 1952.
