Seeking more clout at sea
MMEA proposes using landing crafts in fight against encroachment by foreign fishing vessels
EPU has agreed to study it (landing craft) and will consider making Sarawak as a pilot project to operate a landing craft. First Admiral Ismaili Bujang Pit, State MMEA chief
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) is hoping for a favourable outcome on its proposal to deploy landing crafts to combat the i ncreasing number of encroachment by foreign fishing vessels.
State MMEA chief First Admiral Ismaili Bujang Pit said the use of landing crafts is a long- term solution to the issue as MMEA assets will be able to remain at sea for at least 20 days, thus creating omnipresence in the state’s exclusive economic zone ( EEZ).
“We have tabled our proposal to the federal and state governments as this issue ( encroachment) is quite serious. Some of the foreign vessels have encroached 100 nautical miles inside Sarawak waters, some are even at our doorstep,” he said during a press conference at the Tun Abang Salahuddin Maritime Complex ( Komtas) jetty in Muara Tebas here yesterday.
He revealed that as of this month, MMEA Sarawak has recorded 67 cases involving 26 foreign vessels, a figure which is expected to surpass the number of cases throughout the whole of last year.
“In 2016, we only recorded a total of 90 cases. I can guarantee that the number of cases will go up this year due to the increasing number of encroachment by Vietnamese vessels,” he added.
Some 316 Vietnamese crew members have been arrested by MMEA Sarawak so far this year for illegal fishing compared to only 189 the whole of 2016, a figure Ismaili said was the highest since MMEA started operations in Sarawak 11 years ago.
He disclosed that a study was conducted by the Economic Planning Unit ( EPU) early this year where representatives from the MMEA, State Fisheries Department and Malaysian Fisheries Development Board ( LKIM) were present to provide data on the encroachment of foreign vessels in Tanjung Manis, Bintulu.
Among the proposals for MMEA was the usage of a landing craft and added assets to be more efficient inside the state’s EEZ, which spans 239,605 sq km.
“EPU has agreed to study it ( landing craft) and will consider making Sarawak as a pilot project to operate a landing craft. We hope that they (government) are really supporting us as we want to go all out,” said Ismail.
The state government has indicated its willingness to fund the construction of the landing crafts should the proposal at the federal level falls through.
“I really hope that there will be an answer by this year so that we ( MMEA) can put out a tender as soon as possible. We are confident that our local ship builders are good enough to manufacture the landing crafts, which should take between six to eight months to manufacture,” added Ismaili.
On a separate matter, the MMEA state chief also noted that some of the Vietnamese crew members caught for illegal fishing are repeat offenders who have been arrested and sentenced to jail on multiple occasions.
“We also believe that there is an international syndicate involving Sarawakians and Vietnamese nationals. The role of Sarawakians in the syndicate – believed to be operating out of Vietnam – is to provide the Vietnamese vessels with information, logistics and fuel supply.”