KUCHING: A foreign fishing boat was detained in Sarawak waters yesterday by a Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) ship, KD Todak, and RM1.7 million worth of assets were seized.
The assets comprised the boat itself, fuel and 500kg of various types of fish.
The ship which was seized about 10.30am last Sunday is currently detained at Komtas (Kompleks Maritim Tun Abang Salehuddin) here.
The boat’s 31 crew members have been detained and do not have personal documents or other official identification papers on them.
The detainees were brought to the State Maritime Enforcement Agency (SMEA) for further questioning.
During a press conference, First Admiral Maritime Robert The Geok Chuan said the boat appeared to be a Vietnamese vessel.
“It was spotted by the navy during a routine check 32 nautical miles from Tanjung Sirik and 60 nautical miles from Kuching,” he said.
Robert, who is also SMEA director, said that this was not the first time a foreign boat was caught fishing in Sarawak waters.
Earlier on, a boat was apprehended off Bintulu.
“The Vietnamese were charged under the Section 15 Fisheries Act 1985 at the local court,” he said.
“I urged local fishermen who spot any foreign boat at sea to report it to the authority,” he said.
Also present at the press conference were Eastern Fleet Command Deputy Commander Rear Admiral Khalid Jaafar and Lieutenant Commander RMN Ahmad Zaki Ismail (Commanding Officer of KD Todak).
For any information or complaints, fishermen can contact the agency’s hotline at 082–432544.
