PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency has detained 74 foreign fishing vessels for trespassing into Malaysian waters this year.
Its director general, Maritime Rear Admiral Datuk Mohd Rosli Abdullah, said the fishing vessels were detained between January and October.
"Of the 74 vessels, 46 were Vietnamese, 15 Indonesian vessels, 12 Thai, and one from China," he said after the MMEA media day here today.
He said MMEA had also thwarted 151 smuggling attempts during the same period.
"Petrol smuggling was the highest, at 46 cases, followed by smuggling of controlled items (30 cases), diesel smuggling (15 cases) and 11 cases of liquified petroleum gas smuggling.
"We urge Malaysians to report to MMEA suspicious activity in our waters," he said.
He said safety at sea was a shared responsibility.
"MMEA will continue to enhance surveillance and enforcement to curb activities that threaten our maritime security," he said.