Vietnam trawlers, 30 crew seized

Vietnam trawlers, 30 crew seized

SONGKHLA — The navy seized five Vietnamese fishing boats with 30 crew members on Saturday for poaching fish in Thai waters.

Vietnamese crew members on board trawlers are arrested in the Gulf of Thailand and taken by the navy to its base in Songkhla. (Photo by Wichayant Boonchote)

The HMS Phuket intercepted the trawlers 15 nautical miles off Kra island in Pak Phanang district in Nakhon Si Thammarat and forced them to anchor at the navy base in Songkhla, said Navy Region 2 commander Naris Prathumsuwan.

Intercepted Vietnamese fishing boats are forced by the navy to anchor in Songkhla province. (Photo by Wichayant Boonchote)

The fishing boats had journeyed from Ca Mau and Kieng Giang in southern Vietnam to fish illegally fish in Thailand, said Vice Adm Naris. Officers also found a registration book issued by the Thai Marine Department on one of the ships and were trying to find out how the Vietnamese came to possess the document.

The Vietnamese were charged with illegal entry into Thailand and will be deported, he added.

The seizure followed air and sea patrols by the navy as it stepped up measures against the intrusion of illegal Vietnamese boats into the Gulf of Thailand. Since September, it has arrested 29 boats including the ones caught on Saturday.

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