The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) from the Kuala Terengganu Maritime District detained 31 foreign fishermen together with two boats in two separate incidents for encroaching and fishing in Malaysian waters.
DM 9 Maritime Enforcement Head, Capt G. Xavier Thevadas said all the Vietnamese fishermen were detained in an operation in the waters off Terengganu on Sunday and Monday.
He said that in the raid at about 11am on Sunday, his men had detected a fishing boat using a local registration number about 41 nautical miles from Kuala Terengganu.
The boat also flew the Jalur Gemilang on their boat and we suspected that the C class fishing boat had been cloned based of the physical condition of the boat and the use of the registration number TRF 1240, he said in a statement here today.
Following inspection, the boat was found not to have any valid licence or fishing permit while the 19 crew members aged between 20 and 40, including the skipper, did not have any personal identification documents and valid working permits.
In the second incident at about 12.30pm yesterday, the MMEA detained a foreign fishing boat that had anchored about 70 nautical miles off Kuala Terengganu.
Capt Thevadas said a check on the boat, which had a foreign registration number, revealed that the skipper and 11 crew members, who were all Vietnamese nationals, did not have any personal identification documents.
2014 The Malay Mail Online