Thai Navy seizes oil tanker bound for Cambodia in the Gulf

The Thai Navy has seized a Thai-owned oil tanker in the Gulf of Thailand, on suspicion that it was attempting to smuggle fuel to Cambodia, in violation of the ban on the export of fuel and strategic supplies to Cambodia by Thai-owned or Thai-flagged vessels.

Rear Admiral Parach Rattanachaipan, the RTN’s spokesman, told the media yesterday that the vessel was spotted on December 27 by a Thai patrol boat, the HTMS Prachuap Khiri Khan, about 50 nautical miles south of Samet Island.

He said that the tanker was not flying any flag or displaying its name or registration number. The Automatic Identification System on board the vessel had also been switched off.

Marines from the patrol vessel boarded the tanker, where they found five crew members, including one Myanmar national and four Cambodians.

The tanker was then escorted to a Thai naval base to be impounded, while the crew were taken to the local police station for questioning.