KUANTAN: The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), from the Naval Region Command 1 (Mawilla 1), seized a Vietnamese boat on Thursday for fishing in Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEE).

In a statement today, Mawilla 1 said the boat, with 12 fishermen on board, was stopped, boarded and seized at 9am in Terengganu waters, about 120 nautical miles from Pulau Perhentian.

“We received information from (the RMN) on intrusion at Malaysian’s ZEE, before patrol vessel KD Terengganu was dispatched to the location.

“Further inspection found that none of the crew had valid identification documents, or a valid permit to fish in the ZEE.

“They have (therefore) committed an offense under the Fisheries Act 1985,” the statement read.

KD Terengganu towed the boat to Pulau Perhentian, before handing it over to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) for further action.

“The seizure of the Vietnamese fishing boat is an act of deterrence, as well as to convey the message that we are taking acts of encroachment or illegal activities by foreigners seriously,” the statement continued.-nst