Fishing boat with 12 Vietnamese crew detained in Kudat
KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in Kudat has detained a fishing boat and its 12 Vietnamese crew off Tanjung Simpang Mengayau in Kudat.
MMEA Kudat Zone Maritime Director Kommander Maritim Boon Chin Chau said the vessel and crew were nabbed pending investigations to verify the permit and identification documents showed to the enforcement personnel.
He said this was because the boat resembled a Vietnamese fishing boat but it had a local registration number and it was flying the Malaysian flag.
Boon said as the documents were in doubt, the MMEA personnel who conducted the check on the boat decided to bring it and its crew for further investigation.
Boon in a statement on Sunday said that MMEA personnel on ‘Ops Pluto Timur’ was responding to a call claiming that there was a vessel spotted about 27 nautical miles off Tanjung Simpang Mengayau about 12.30pm on Saturday.
They went to the location and found the vessel there. They boarded it and checked the documents of the crew, aged between 23 and 53 years.
“All including the captain had identification documents but MMEA personnel were doubtful about the authenticity of the documents. Same goes to the vessel’s permit and registration number,” he said.
The vessel and crew were later taken to the Kudat public jetty for further action, he said.