KUDAT: A swift operation by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) thwarted an attempt by two Vietnamese foreign fishing vessels to plunder marine resources in Sabah waters.
The two boats were caught off Sibogor Island at around 3.15pm on Sunday (April 6) during a special maritime operation dubbed Ops Khas Pagar Laut.
Kudat Maritime Zone Director Maritime Commander Hasbullah Omar said the successful interception was made possible through a public tip-off.
“Upon arrival about 11 nautical miles northeast of Sibogor Island, our patrol team spotted the vessels engaged in illegal fishing activities,” he said in a statement, Monday.
Hasbullah said the crew attempted to resist arrest by cutting their towing cables, letting them drag behind the boats and installing steel bars on both sides of their vessels to obstruct enforcement officers from boarding.
“A 15-minute chase ensued before our team managed to leap aboard and stop the vessels,” he said.
Searches revealed both boats were equipped with solid steel gear specially designed for harvesting sea cucumbers (balat), and about 45kg of fresh sea cucumbers were found, along with roughly 500 litres of diesel on each boat.
Twelve Vietnamese nationals, aged between 30 and 53 years old, were also detained for failing to produce valid identification documents.
The seized vessels, their cargo and crew were escorted to the Kudat Maritime jetty for further investigation. The total value of the seizure, including the boats, is estimated at over RM4 million.
The case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 and Immigration Act 1959/63.
MMEA expressed its gratitude to the public, especially the maritime community in Kudat, for their continued cooperation in reporting crimes and misconduct at sea.
