Suspected Vietnamese fishing vessel detained for encroaching into Malaysian waters

MIRI:  A suspected foreign fishing vessel believed to be from Vietnam was detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) during a routine patrol in Sarawak waters Friday morning (Oct 11).

The seizure, which includes the vessel and an estimated 5,000 litres of oil cargo, is valued at approximately RM1.5 million.

According to Miri Maritime Zone deputy director (Operations) Lieutenant Commander Muhd Firdaus Saniman, Deputy Director (Operations), maritime patrol detected the vessel around 7.34am.

The vessel was located 174 nautical miles northwest of Tanjung Baram and 62.1 nautical miles from the national border.

“The vessel was behaving suspiciously when our patrol approached. It initially attempted to evade capture but was successfully brought under control by our team,” said Firdaus during a press conference here yesterday.

Upon inspection, it was discovered that the vessel’s registration number and design indicated it was of Vietnamese origin.

 A total of five individuals were on board, including a skipper and four crew members, aged between 35 and 55.

All are believed to be Vietnamese nationals based on their speech, though none possessed identification documents.

The vessel and its crew were detained at 8:16 am on suspicion of entering Malaysian fisheries waters without authorization.

The case is currently being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985. If convicted, the skipper could face a fine of up to RM1 million, while each crew member could be fined RM100,000 or face imprisonment for up to two years.

The vessel and its crew have been transported to the Miri Maritime Zone ship detention centre, where they will remain in custody as investigations proceed.