HCMC – A fishing boat from Vietnam’s central province of Quang Ngai was chased, rammed and sunk by a Chinese ship and a motorboat near Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, reported Tien Phong newspaper.
On June 12, Quang Ngai’s Border Guard received a report on the case from Nguyen Loc, the owner and captain of the local fishing boat.
According to the 42-year-old captain, the incident took place at some 10 a.m. on June 10 when the Chinese vessel number 4006 and the motorboat chased and rammed his boat several times even as he tried to steer it to avoid the crash.
The Vietnamese fishing boat overturned, with 16 local fishermen on board being thrown into the sea. Some 12 of them managed to hang onto basket boats, while three others climbed on board the Chinese ship.
The Chinese ship refused to tow the Vietnamese fishing boat to a nearby island for repairs. Moreover, those on board the ship beat up captain Loc and forcefully took away one ton of seafood and fishing equipment from the Vietnamese fishing boat and damaged parts of it.
The total damages suffered by the local fishermen are estimated at VND500 million.
The local fishing boat, with number QNg 96416 TS, had reportedly headed out to catch fish near the Hoang Sa archipelago in the East Sea on June 6. After the boat returned to the mainland, local authorities quarantined all the fishermen to prevent a Covid-19 infection.
