Coast guards in Russia’s Far East were forced to open fire to stop a poaching fishing vessel in the Sea of Japan, a spokesman for the local Border Guards Service said on Tuesday.
He said the vessel, flying the flag of China, refused to stop on demand from coast guards and tried to escape.
“After a three-hour pursuit, the Dzerzhinsky coast guard vessel fired warning shots, but the poaching vessel continued its dangerous maneuvers,” he said adding that after the warning shots coast guards opened a targeted fire on the vessel.
The vessel carried over 22.5 metric tons of squid and had a crew 17 Chinese nationals, who failed to present any documents allowing them fishing. None of them were killed or wounded during the shooting.
The Russian Coast Guard service is actively involved in fighting illegal fishing in Russia’s territorial waters and frequently detains foreign-flagged poaching vessels.