Medan. Indonesian maritime authorities have seized two Malaysian-flagged fishing vessels and arrested seven Indonesian crew members for allegedly conducting illegal fishing operations in the country’s territorial waters in the Malacca Strait, officials said on Thursday.

The arrests were made by the Ministry of Maritime and Fishery Affairs’ patrol boat Hiu 16, which intercepted the vessels after they failed to present valid documentation from the Indonesian government.

“Both vessels were apprehended in Indonesian waters of the Malacca Strait. They lacked the proper permits and were using trawl nets, which are banned under Indonesian law,” said Pung Nugroho Saksono, director of the ministry’s marine and fishery resources monitoring division, during a press briefing in Belawan, North Sumatra.

The use of trawl nets and illegal entry into Indonesian waters are punishable by up to eight years in prison and fines of up to Rp 1.5 billion. Authorities estimate the economic loss caused by the illegal operation at Rp 19.9 billion ($1.2 million).

“Interestingly, while the boats fly Malaysian flags, all seven crew members are Indonesian citizens,” Pung said.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the crew were working for Malaysian employers and admitted to regularly bribing border officials to cross from Tanjung Balai Asahan into Malaysian waters.

“They claimed to pay around Rp 2 million in bribes each time they crossed the maritime border,” Pung added.

Each crew member reportedly earned Rp 5 million per month, with captains receiving twice that amount.

One of the vessels, registered as SLFA 5210, has a capacity of 43 gross tons and was carrying 300 kilograms of illegal catch and four crew members when it was intercepted on Monday. The second vessel, SLFA 4584, has a capacity of 27 gross tons and was found with 150 kilograms of illegal fish and three crew members.

As of May this year, Indonesia has seized a total of 13 foreign fishing vessels, including five from the Philippines, four from Vietnam, three from Malaysia, and one from China, according to ministry data.

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