The Royal Thai Navy has seized a pair of Vietnamese fishing boats and arrested their crews for illegally fishing in Thai territorial waters off the coast of Songkhla province.
According to the 2nd Naval Area Command, the boats were spotted 120 nautical miles from a safe water buoy off the coast of Songkhla in the early hours of Thursday morning (5 May) by HTMS Thai Muang. Fourteen people were detained and taken to Songkla naval base for questioning.
The navy said the trawlers left Vietnam’s Ca Mau on May 1 and were operating in Thai waters for four days before they were caught. The crews have since been charged with illegal fishing and related offenses under the Fisheries Act and their boats impounded.
It was the tenth time this fiscal year that the 2nd Naval Area had seized foreign fishing boats. A total of 14 boats have so far been intercepted and seventy people on board arrested and charged.
