2 Vietnamese boats detained in Gulf

Two Vietnamese trawlers were impounded and 20 crewmembers detained by the Royal Thai Navy yesterday, after the trawlers were found fishing in the Gulf of Thailand off Chon Buri and Prachuap Khiri Khan.

After tip-offs that Vietnamese trawlers were in Thai waters, First Region Navy Commander Vice Admiral Rungsak Serisawat, also director of the Thailand Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Centre Region 1, sent a ship to patrol Prachuap Khiri Khan and stop Vietnamese trawler CM 6226 TS along with eight crewmembers. Another patrol boat off Chon Buri found another trawler (CM 99127 TS) and arrested 12 men on board. The two vessels were taken to the Navy pier at Sattahip and the crews sent to police to face charges of illegal entry, intrusion into an exclusive economic zone in Thai waters and violating the Thai Fisheries Act.