The Fisheries Agency and the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia are looking into the case of a Kaohsiung-registered long-line fishing boat that was on Friday detained by the Indonesian Coast Guard near the Strait of Malacca.
The Wei Long (緯龍) obtained authorization to travel to the Indian Ocean to fish and was on its way there after mooring in Singapore when it was detained by Indonesian authorities.
Coast guard officers boarded the ship, which had 29 people on it, including a Taiwanese national, who was in charge, and Filipino and Indonesian crew members.
Following an inspection of the ship, the coast guard tugged the ship to nearby Pulau Karimunbesar, about 30km west-southwest of Singapore.
An official from the representative office confirmed that all those aboard the ship were safe.
It was not immediately clear why the ship was detained, but a representative of the vessel’s owner expressed concern that the ship was being “framed” for carrying illegal items.
Officials from the office yesterday traveled to the scene to offer their assistance, and the agency said it is hopeful that the situation would be resolved and that the ship can resume its operations.
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