Coast Guard seizes 15,000 litres of smuggled diesel

Officers of Coast Guard Intelligence Division No 2 discover a wooden fishing boat off the coast of Kiên Giang Province carrying 15,000 litres of diesel oil of unknown origin on January 12.  — Photo courtesy of VCG

MEKONG DELTA — The Coast Guard has seized 15,000 litres of smuggled diesel from a wooden fishing boat off the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Kiên Giang.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Phan Nhân Hậu, head of the Đồng Nai Province-based Coast Guard Intelligence Division No 2, said a patrol team discovered the boat 50 nautical miles east Thổ Chu Islands on January 12.

Officers boarded KG 91060 TS registered in Kiên Giang Province and found the oil of unknown origin.

The vessel’s captain, Nguyễn Công Định, 50, of Hậu Giang Province, and four crew members were on board.

Định failed to furnish documents proving the origin of the oil, while none of the crew had the qualifications or certification required to be a sailor.

The patrol team brought the vessel ashore and handed the case over to Coast Guard Region No 4 based in Vũng Tàu City for further investigation. — VNS