Four Emirati fishermen and five Asian crewmen are being detained by authorities in Iran after sailing into Iranian territorial waters.
The men went to sea on Thursday last week on board a fishing boat registered in Umm Al Quwain but did not return, said Sultan Ali Mohammed, the father of one of the Emiratis, identified as Saud Sultan.
When he left he told his mother he would stay at the sea for two days with other fishermen to catch shrimp fish that breed near an oil field, he said. But he never returned even after the two days and then he contacted us to say they were sleeping on their boat when a naval patrol belonging to Iran surrounded them and seized them.
Saud told his father they were being detained at a police post on an Iranian island while they wait for legal proceedings to start.
Mr Sultan, who also used to work as a fisherman, said he always cautioned his son not to sail long distances as he could put himself in harm’s way but the search for shrimp and other types of rare fish often meant fishermen had to travel far out to sea.
Hussein Sultan, Saud’s brother, said family friends in Iran have visited the fishermen and the crewmen to check on their situation. They reported that Saud and his friends were in good condition and had been allowed to make phone calls and were expecting their hearings to be held tomorrow (Sat) because of this week’s Ashura holidays in Iran.
Hussein Al Hajri, the president of the UAQ Fishermen’s Association, said he always urged fishermen not to go venture far out to sea, to keep away from oil installations and out of the territorial waters of other countries for their own safety.
All the fish species they go looking for in those distant places are now available on the UAE coast and other fishermen get them here, he said. Our role as the fishermen’s leaders is always to guide them on what is right and it is their role as well to follow our advice.
In July, five Emirati fishing boat captains and 21 Asian crewmen were released after being held in custody in Iran for two months. They were on board three boats seized by the Iranian coastguard after sailing into waters off Kish island on May 12. The men were released after the Emirati owners of two of the boats agreed to pay fines totalling Dh55,000.
Abu Dhabi Media company