SHAH ALAM, May 29 — The Selangor division of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained a local fishing vessel (VNT) and four Myanmar nationals for allegedly violating fishing licence conditions in the state’s waters yesterday.
Its director Maritime Captain Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh said the VNT was detained by an MMEA boat conducting routine patrols at a position 15.3 nautical miles southwest of Pulau Tengah at 5.30pm.
An inspection found that the vessel was operated by four Myanmar crew members, including the skipper, all aged between 25 and 46, who failed to produce valid work permits or authorisation letters.
“Further checks found that the skipper and one crew member had identification documents, while the other two crew members failed to produce any valid identification documents.
“Information from the Fisheries Department’s Vessel Monitoring System also found that the vessel had entered areas outside Malaysian fishing waters without the permission of the Malaysian Fisheries Department's director-general,” he said in a statement today.
Muhaimin added that they also seized an estimated 500kg of fish catch, and that the case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 for breaching licence conditions, including employing foreign workers without permission from the Fisheries Department's director-general and operating outside authorised fishing areas.
The case is also being investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 after two crew members were found without valid identification documents.
