Naval officers from HTMS Narathiwat, an offshore patrol ship, spotted the two trawlers fishing illegally about 130 nautical miles off the Phangnga coast on Tuesday (Jan 21) morning, 3rd Naval Area Command chief Vice Adm Choengchai Chomchoengphaet said yesterday (Jan 24).
The patrol team seized the two trawlers - Perkasa Mahera and Voltu 3 - and arrested all 33 crewmen and the two skippers on board, said Vice Adm Choengchai.
Mr Nunir was the skipper of Perkasa Mahera trawler with 29 crew members, and Mr Muhammadnasir was the skipper of Voltu 3 trawler with 4 crewmembers. Fishing equipment and 150kg of fish were seized.
The patrol team handed over the skippers and the crew members to Thai Muang police station for legal action.