GEORGE TOWN – The Penang Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained two fishing boats with 11 foreign crewmembers, all of them without valid travel and personal documents, in the waters off Penang last week.
Its director, Maritime Capt Abd Razak Mohamed, said the fishing boats were spotted by a maritime patrol vessel which was conducting “Op Tanjung” in the area, with the first boat (a local Class C fishing boat) detained 14 nautical miles west of Pulau Kendi at 4.17pm last Thursday (December 22).
“The boat, which is based in Pulau Pangkor, Perak, was operated by five foreign crew, comprising three Myanmar and two Thai nationals aged between 19 and 52. All the foreign crewmembers did not have any identification documents nor valid work permits,” he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, he said the second boat was an Indonesian fishing vessel, with six Indonesian crewmembers, which was detained 52 nautical miles southwest of Pulau Kendi at 12.10pm on December 24 for fishing in Malaysian waters.
The Indonesian fishermen, aged 24 to 42, also failed to present their identification documents.
Razak said all 11 foreign fishermen were detained for further investigation under the Fisheries Act 1985 and Immigration Act 1959/63. – Bernama, December 27, 2022
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