Indonesian Navy Captures A Taiwanese Boat in the North Natuna Sea

Natuna Sea, MINA – The Indonesian Navy secured a foreign fishing boat with a Taiwanese flag fishing illegally in the waters of Indonesia’s national jurisdiction, the North Natuna Sea on Friday.

The illegal activity was monitored during a routine patrol by KRI Usman Harun-359 on Friday.

“Right now, the foreign fishing boat is being towed to the Ranai Navy Base for further investigation,” said the Commander of the Armed Forces I Rear Admiral TNI Abdul Rasyid in a written statement as quoted from Republika on Saturday.

Pangkoarmada I said that his party is trying to be present to carry out patrols in the territorial waters of national jurisdiction in order to maintain state sovereignty and enforce law while still implementing the Covid-19 health protocol.

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“The commitment of the Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Yudo Margono is clear, the Indonesian Navy will not hesitate to take action against all forms of legal violations that occur in the waters of Indonesia’s national jurisdiction, one of which is the violation of ‘Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing’ in Indonesia. The North Natuna Sea is a working area that is the responsibility of Koarmada I, “said Pangkoarmada I.

KRI USH-359, which was conducting routine patrols under operational control (BKO) of the Koarmada Sea Combat Group I (Guspurla Koarmada I), detected a foreign contact suspected of being a fishing boat carrying out fishing activities in the North Natuna Sea which is the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (ZEEI).

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KRI Commander Usman Harun (USH) -359 Marine Colonel (P) Binsar Alfred Syaiful Sitorus ordered to approach and confirm the ship which was allegedly carrying out illegal fishing activities. Foreign fishing boats that know the presence of KRI try to avoid by increasing speed away to the north.

The commander of KRI USH-359 ordered to give a signal to foreign fishing vessels to stop. However, that warning was ignored by the ship.

With the maneuvers, the foreign fishing boats were finally stopped and docked with KRI. Next, the Visit Board Search and Seizure Team conducts an inspection.

From the initial inspection, the foreign fishing boat named Hai Chien Hsing 20 with a weight of 70 Gross Ton (GT) with the Taiwan flag has nine crew members, two of whom are Taiwanese nationals and seven are Indonesian nationals. The ship is headed by Hu Shih Jung, a citizen of Taiwan.

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The ship is suspected of fishing in Indonesia’s EEZ without being equipped with valid permit documents and using fishing gear that is not in accordance with the regulations.

In the ship, there are 12 tonnes of mixed fish in 4 holds. The Taiwan-flagged ship is suspected of violating Article 93 paragraph (2) in conjunction with Article 27 paragraph (2) of Law Number 45 of 2009 concerning Fisheries. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)