Eight Chinese fishing boats that had been illegally anchored for an extended period in Korea's territorial waters near Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea were seized by the Korea Coast Guard.
The Central Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard said on the 11th that it seized eight Chinese fishing boats on suspicion of violating the Ship Act and the Public Waters Management Act in waters near Yeonpyeong Island in Ongjin County, Incheon.
The Korea Coast Guard carried out two joint operations with the Navy at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. that day, seizing five and three Chinese fishing boats, respectively.
The seized vessels are seven steel-hulled boats and one wooden boat. Of these, three were identified as unmanned vessels that had been left anchored without crew. A total of nine people were aboard the five manned vessels.
These vessels are suspected of anchoring for an extended period near Yeonpyeong Island without permission or notification. The Korea Coast Guard plans to escort the boats and question the crew to determine the exact circumstances of the anchoring and whether there was illegal fishing.
In particular, for unmanned vessels, it is known that a method is used in which only the boat is anchored in Korea's territorial waters while crew members come and go using other boats to fish. The Korea Coast Guard will check whether there was actual illegal fishing using this method.
An official at the Central Regional Headquarters of the Korea Coast Guard said, "Boats that were illegally anchored for an extended period without permission or notification in our territorial waters."