Enforcement officers from
Royal Thai Navy patrol ships move in and secure a Vietnamese fishing
boat caught illegally fishing in Thai waters.
Patcharapol Panrak
Royal Thai Navy patrol ships arrested 108 Vietnamese
fishermen illegally piloting a dozen boats in the upper Gulf of
Thailand.
Vice Adm. Chumpol Wongwekhin, director of Thailand
Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Center Region 1, led the three-day
mission in the waters between Koh Samet and Koh Chuang Sept. 15. The
HTMS Chao Phrya, HTMS Sirirath and HTMS Thimuang, along with two Seahawk
helicopters, intercepted the Vietnamese boats.
The Navy cooperated in the operation with the Eastern
Gulf of Thailand Fishing Management Center in Rayong, Rayong Department
of Marine and Coastal Resources, Rayong Marine Police, and Customs
Department after having received complaints from Thai fishermen
regarding Vietnamese fishing boats trespassing in Thai waters.
About 20 small boats were spotted, but eight managed
to escape the much larger and faster Thai ships.
All the Vietnamese crewmen received health checks and
were transferred to Department of Marine and Coastal Resources to be
processed for deportation.
