Vietnam seizes Thai vessel carrying 260,000 liters of illegal gasoline

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The Chinese ship carrying 100,000 tons of illegal gasoline was arrested by the Vietnamese Border Guard in March. Photo provided by the Border Guard.

Vietnam's Coast Guard detained a Thai vessel carrying 260,000 liters of gasoline without legal papers in the country’s exclusive economic zone on July 22, the government online news portal reported.

The TAKUZAN 111 was also carrying seven crew members without identity papers when it was captured.

The captain testified that there were 260,000 liters of gasoline on board, but failed to provide legal documents.

In a previous case, Coast Guard forces captured a Chinese ship on March 31, which was on its way supplying 100,000 liters of illegal gasoline to Chinese vessels fishing illegally in Vietnamese waters.

The Coast Guard said that the TAKUZAN 111 was not a tanker and did not have fire safety equipment or pollution controls in place, posing a threat to Vietnam’s marine environment.

The vessel and its cargo have been seized pending further investigations.

The Ministry of Defense said that fuel smuggling is common along coastal provinces with international harbors like the northern provinces of Quang Ninh and Hai Phong and the southern province of Vung Tau.

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From 2013 to the end of 2015, Vietnamese forces seized about 21.3 million tons of illegal fuel, contributing more than VND270 billion ($12.1 million) to the state budget.