PASIR PUTEH: A foreign fishing vessel was seized for encroaching and carrying out fishing activities in Malaysian waters here.
Kelantan Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director Captain Syed Nor Adli Ab Rahman said during the operation, 16 crew members, including the boat's skipper, were detained.
He said they were arrested while carrying out fishing activities at 45 nautical miles off Tok Bali beach on Friday night.
"The MMEA vessel was conducting Ops Khas Pagar Laut when it spotted the foreign vessel at about 9pm.
"The MMEA officer then ordered the boat skipper to stop, but he refused and fled.
"In a 30-minute chase, the MMEA boat stopped the vessel. After inspecting, they found that the boat had no approval from Malaysian authorities to catch fish in our waters," he said in a statement.
Nor Adli said all the 16 crew members also failed to produce their identification documents to the MMEA officers.
He added the 16, aged 19 to 55, all from Vietnam, are being held for further action.
During the operation, he said MMEA also seized the vessel, over 3,000 kg of fish and fishing equipment, all valued at about RM1.5 million.