Bakamla Again Securing 2 Vietnamese Fish Thieves Vessels in Natuna

Editor: Lia Sisvita Dinatri

TRIBUNBATAM.id - The Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) arrested two fishing boats from Vietnam in the North Natuna Sea, Riau Islands, Thursday (29/10/2020). 

With this arrest, four Vietnamese ships had been secured in the last 13 days after previously Bakamla arrested two ships on Saturday, (17/10/2020). 

"The KIA (foreign fishing vessel) from Vietnam was caught on the inside of the overlapping claim area with Vietnam, about 30 nm (nautical miles) south of the Vietnamese claim line, to be precise in the waters of North Natuna," said the Head of Public Relations and Protocol of the Indonesian Bakamla. , Colonel Bakamla Wisnu Pramandita in a written statement, Friday (30/10/2020).

Wisnu explained that the arrest of the ship began when the ship belonging to Bakamla, KN Pulau Nipah-321, was carrying out a patrol in the northwest of the Anambas Islands, in the context of a preventive operation. 

At around 14:48 WIB, the KN Pulau Nipah-321 ship detected a radar contact that was suspected of being a foreign fishing vessel in the front sector at a distance of 7.2 nm.

The ship Commander, Lt. Col. Bakamla Anto Hartanto then ordered to increase speed and change direction towards the target. 

When the ship was 1,000 yards away, the officer looked over and found that a ship was catching fish.

At the same time, the fishing boat tried to escape after breaking the net that had been spread in the surrounding waters. 

However, the ship with hull number TG 9583 TS surrendered and could be examined and searched. 

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"When the initial inspection was carried out, the ship was carrying 20 crew members (ABK), and the hatch was half filled with mixed types of fish," said Wisnu.

The arrest of the ship from Vietnam did not stop there.

Less than one hour after catching the first boat, KN Pulau Nipah managed to secure another Vietnamese fishing boat with hull number TG 9489 TS. 

Based on data from Indonesia's Destructive Fishing Watch (DFW), there have been 31 cases of theft by foreign fishing vessels from June-October 2020 in the North Natuna Sea, Riau Islands.

Of the total ships that were secured, 21 of them were Vietnamese-flagged vessels.