Royal Thai Navy seized Vietnamese fishing boats

BANGKOK, July 18 (TNA) -- Thai navy has seized three Vietnamese fishing boats and 18 crew members while illegally entering Thai waters. A Royal Thai Navy ship was alerted of the illegal fishing activities near Losin Island off Pattani province. The three trawlers were spotted right when the fishermen were collecting sea cucumbers in the area. The arrested skippers said home port of all three vessels was Ca Mau. All trawlers were towed to Naval Region 2 base in Songkhla province. The 18 crew members will be prosecuted before being deported. A number of vessels from southern Vietnam have been illegally trespassing into Thai territorial waters to fish. The Naval Region 2 has made hundreds of arrests of Vietnamese. Since January this year, a total of 33 boats and 189 fishermen have been arrested. (TNA)