The Coast Guard Administration yesterday rescued the Yu Chan Hsiang, a fishing vessel hijacked by its Indonesian crew in the waters off Pingtung, an official said.
The rescue mission, carried out by a Taiwanese patrol boat, led to the arrest of seven Indonesian crewmembers, a spokesman for the administration’s Maritime Patrol Directorate-General said.
The spokesman said the directorate-general has maintained contact with the patrol boat to keep abreast of developments, adding that the fishing boat, registered in Pingtung County’s Liouciou Township (琉球), is expected to be escorted to Kaohsiung Harbor in the next three to four days.
PHOTO: WU JEN-CHIEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Coast guard officers in southern Taiwan received a report on Wednesday from the Donggang Fishery Radio Station saying that captain Tsai Kun-he (蔡坤和) and chief engineer Lee Hui-fa (李惠發) were threatened and held captive after a clash with Indonesian crew members. Their ship was 1,480km southeast of Eluanbi (鵝鑾鼻) on the southern tip of Taiwan, the spokesman said.
The directorate-general sent a Taiwanese patrol vessel carrying five armed special service officers and two inspectors to carry out the rescue mission later that day. The 51 tonne fishing boat was not found until yesterday, when officers spotted it with a telescope.
Coast guard personnel approached the fishing boat and overpowered the Indonesian crew after making certain that Tsai and Lee were safe, the spokesman said.
After the coast guard officers brought the situation under control, however, Lee suffered minor cuts on his left arm from a crewmember’s knife as he tried to go to the bathroom, the spokesman said.
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