GEORGE TOWN – The Penang Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained two boats carrying 11 foreign fishermen who did not possess any personal travel documents during an inspection at Pulau Kendi near here on Friday.
Its director Abd Razak Mohamed said the patrol vessel, which was conducting an operation, first detained a class C fishing boat belonging to a local 71NM west of Pulau Kendi at 1.50pm.
“Inspections found that the local fishing boat based in Hutan Melintang, Perak, was operated by six Myanmarese, all of whom are aged 35 to 50 and did not have any identification documents nor valid work permits,” he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, he said an Indonesian fishing boat, which was detained 19.8NM southwest of Pulau Kendi at 7.20pm, was found to be carrying six Indonesian men upon inspection.
He said the boat was based in Tg Balai, Indonesia, and all the fishermen, aged 13 to 30, failed to present their identification documents and valid fishing permits in Malaysian waters.
Abd Razak said all 11 foreign fishermen were detained for further investigation, while their boats and catch were also seized. – Bernama, December 18, 2022
