Vietnamese Boat Caught Posing As Local Vessel In Malaysia's Kemaman Waters

KEMAMAN (Terengganu, Malaysia), May 18 (Bernama) -- A foreign fishing boat owned by a Vietnamese was detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) when masquerading as a local vessel in the waters here. Pahang MMEA director Rear Admiral Maritime Zulkarnain Mohd Omar in a statement said the boat was detained on May 16 while MMEA was patrolling in the waters. “At about 5.16am, an MMEA boat on patrol was informed of a suspicious-looking boat in the waters of Kemaman (in Malaysia’s east coast state Terengganu). "Based on the tip-off, the MMEA boat detected the foreign vessel posing a local fishing boat with the registration number PAF 4128, about 59 nautical miles from Kemaman,” he said in a statement. According to Zulkarnain, seven crew members including the skipper aged between 23 and 30 were held as all of them could not produce any personal identification documents, boat licence and work permits. The case was being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 and the Immigration Act 1959/63 for not possessing identification documents or work permits. -- BERNAMA