TANJUNG MANIS: Three crew members of a Vietnamese fishing boat including the captain were arrested in Sarawak waters, 33 nautical miles north of Tanjung Sirik around 10.45am on Monday (August 10).
The arrests of the men, aged between 19 and 54, were made by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Maritime Malaysia), Tanjung Manis Maritime Zone.
Tanjung Manis Maritime Zone director, Maritime Commander Mohd Ariz Md Kassim said his team was conducting an ‘Ops Naga Timur/Ops Permai’ in the waters.
“The fishermen did not have any permit to fish in the country’s waters and no valid travel and identity documents,” he said in a press statement on Wednesday (August 12).
Mohd Ariz added that the men were detained and escorted to Fisheries Development Authority Malaysia (LKIM) Jetty, Tanjung Manis. They also underwent a Covid-19 screening test conducted by the local Health Office. Their fishing boat was also detained.
The case will be investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 for not having a permit to carry out any fishing activities in national waters and the Immigration Act 1959/63 because the skipper and crew did not have any identity documents.
Anyone with information on the intrusion of foreign fishing boats or any suspicious activity in Sarawak waters are requested to channel information to the Malaysian Maritime Operations Centre of Sarawak at 082-432544 or MERS 999 which operates round the clock.
