Coast Guard apprehends Myanmarese fishing boat with 12 crew members in Indian waters

The Coast Guard has apprehended a Myanmarese boat with 12 crew members for illegally fishing in Indian waters near Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a statement issued by the force here on Sunday said. The boat was apprehended around 14 nautical miles west of Rutland Island on Saturday in a sea-air coordinated operation, it said. The vessel and its crew members were escorted to Port Blair and handed over to the Andaman and Nicobar Police for further investigation, the statement said.

The boat was first sighted by a Coast Guard helicopter on maritime surveillance, but the vessel's crew did not respond on very high frequency (VHF) radio. Acting on the information, a patrolling coast guard maritime reconnaissance aircraft and ship 'Rajkiran' were diverted to the area of sighting for investigation, it said.

The aircraft vectored the ship to intercept the boat, which increased speed and tried evasive manoeuvres to avoid apprehension. The coast guard ship, however, intercepted the vessel and found it to be of Myanmarese origin. It was engaged in illegal fishing in the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), it added.