Ismaili holds up a photo of the Vietnamese fishing vessel which was caught encroaching into Malaysian waters last weekend. — Photo by Chimon Upon
KUCHING: The state Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained 32 foreign fishermen in four separate cases involving three local fishing boats and one Vietnamese vessel during its recent Ops Orion.
MMEA Sarawak regional chief, First Admiral (M) Ismaili Bujang Pit, said the three local vessels were hauled up together with 23 Thai nationals for various offences under the Fisheries Act 1985, while the foreign vessel – with nine Vietnamese crew members – was caught encroaching into Malaysian waters.
He mentioned that on Aug 29 around 10pm, the agency’s KM Marlin spotted the foreign vessel about 63 nautical miles from Tanjung Sirik during its routine patrol. When approached, the vessel tried to make a quick getaway by switching off all its lights, but it was quickly intercepted. A quick check revealed that the crew were illegally catching fish in Malaysian waters.
The nine Vietnamese crew members, aged 15 to 53 years, had been put under remand, he continued.
“This is the 10th foreign vessel that we have detained this year. We will continue this operation until the situation improves in our waters,” Ismaili told a press conference on board the KM Marlin berthed at MMEA’s Tun Abang Salahuddin Complex at Muara Tebas, some 25km from here yesterday.
At the start of the operation on Aug 28, two local vessels were hauled up 130 nautical miles off Tanjung Sirik, and 68 nautical miles off Tanjung Datu, respectively. The first vessel, with eight Thai nationals, had issues with its licence validity while the second vessel – carrying nine Thai fishermen including its skipper – violated the boat’s licence regulation.
On Aug 31, the agency hauled up another local vessel about nine nautical miles off Tanjung Payung in Miri, where six Thai nationals were detained. Ismaili said all four cases were investigated under the Fisheries Act, 1985.
Throughout the four-day operation involving eight sea assets and 140 personnel, MMEA was also on the lookout for foreign fishing vessels acting as collection hubs for fish caught illegally from boats which encroached into Malaysian
waters.
He explained that the vessels – which reportedly came from Thailand and Vietnam – often lurked in international waters and only trespassed into the country’s waters at certain times. Unfortunately, MMEA did not detect any of such boats during the recent operation.
An MMEA officer (left) with some of the detained foreign nationals.
This Vietnamese fishing vessel carried nine crew members.
Ismaili expressed his gratitude to his counterpart in the peninsula for lending KM Marlin and KM Satria from its base in Lumut. A bombardier plane based in Subang Airport provided air support during the operation.
Since January this year, MMEA has recorded a total of 60 cases and collected RM24,800 in compound, RM26,012 in auction of the fish catch and RM10,780 in auction of confiscated fuel.
Meanwhile, in a separate operation in Lawas, Ismaili said the agency confiscated contraband cigarettes and liquor worth up to RM30,000.
“We will continue to conduct our operations and improve our presence. We will strengthen our monitoring and regulation in Tanjung Manis such as ensuring that all fishes and catch are properly landed and that refuelling is strictly based on regulation to ensure the vessels return quickly,” he continued.
He hoped other maritime communities would aid in monitoring encroachment by reporting any suspicious activities of foreign vessels directly to the state MMEA Operations Centre through its hotline 082-432544.