The Vietnam Coast Guard has detained a Saint Kitts & Nevis-flagged ship for allegedly smuggling over 600,000 liters of diesel oil from the Southeast Asian country, the Command of Coast Guard Region 4 overseeing the southern Vietnamese coast said on Tuesday.

Accordingly, the Vietnam Coast Guard has prepared records of the purported smuggling and issued a document that authorizes the temporary seizure of the foreign vessel, Shoel Maru.

The ship was caught off the coast of Con Son Island off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the command said.

On Saturday, the CBS 2004 ship under Squadron 402 CSB of the Command of Coast Guard Region 4 detected the foreign ship with suspicious signs when it was sailing about 110 nautical miles off Con Son Island.

After launching a quick inspection of the ship, the Vietnam Coast Guard found the vessel transporting 611,000 liters of diesel oil with no proof of legal origin.

Its captain, Wathanachai, a person with Thai nationality, could not present a captain’s license.

Initial investigations showed that the foreign ship, with 10 crew members including nine Thais and one Cambodian, bought the diesel oil from Phuoc Loi vessel, a local ship captained by Doan Van Nghia from the southern Vietnamese province of Tien Giang.

Vietnamese authorities are conducting a further probe into the case, said the Command of Coast Guard Region 4.

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