Indonesia’s Bakamla seizes Vietnamese fishing boat in Natuna Sea

Riau, Indonesianpost.com – The Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) apprehended a Vietnamese-flagged boat involved in illegal fishing in the northern waters of the Natuna Sea, Riau Islands, on Friday.

The boat, with hull number BD 97178 TS, was found to be fishing illegally by Bakamla’s vessel KN Marore-322, which was patrolling the waters around 09:58 a.m..

“The radar operator reported that the boat did not activate its AIS (automatic identification system),” said Bakamla’s public relations officer Yuhanes in a press release received in Tanjungpinang on Sunday.

When KN Marore-322 approached, the fishing boat maneuvered and attempted to flee, he said.

“At 10:58 a.m., our team was able to stop the boat and board it to conduct an inspection of documents, crew, and cargo,” said Yuhanes.

The inspection revealed that the boat had 12 crew members and was carrying 5 tons of fish.

Since it did not have fishing permits in Indonesian waters, the boat was escorted to Batam for further investigation.