'Sand pirates play foul in straits'

Chong Chee Seong, New Straits Times 14 Dec 09;

MUAR: For several moments yesterday, three fishermen feared the worst.

The net dangling from their boat was ensnared by a tugboat and their vessel was pulled violently along.

Luckily, the rope attached to the net snapped, but not before they came perilously close to the tugboat which was towing a huge sand barge.

Their skipper, Tan Kwee Yong, 48, then managed to steer the boat away to safety.

The incident happened five nautical miles off Parit Jawa yesterday as the fishermen were hauling up 100 nets which were lowered into the sea hours earlier.

"We could not do anything to prevent our boat from crashing into the tugboat and barge as the force of the pull was strong," he said at the Parit Unas fishing village near here.

Tan said several other fishing boats, which were also in the area, suffered losses as the tugboat had also snapped their nets.

He said he lost 25 nets worth RM5,000 and later lodged a report at the Parit Jawa police station.

Tan was unhappy that the tugboat just sailed away "as if nothing had happened".

He claimed the tugboat came from the south and encroached a few nautical miles from shore at specific areas where rich deposits of sand could be found.

Muar-Batu Pahat Fishermen's Association president Ser Boon Huat claimed fishermen had discovered that illegal sand-dredgers had adopted "hit and run" tactics in the Straits of Malacca.

Ser claimed a favourite tactic of the tugboats would be to anchor a short distance from shore and pretend to be making repairs.

"In fact, the illegal operators are observing the movements of the marine police and Fisheries Department officers and will make the hit when they are not around."

He called on the enforcement agencies to check on any stationary foreign vessels within Malaysian waters to ensure the safety of local fishermen.