The Coast Guard Administration's Fleet recently intercepted a Chinese sand dredger in the waters off of Nangan that was suspected of dredging sand illegally. The dredger was seized and 11 crew members onboard were arrested.


On Oct. 3, members of the Offshore Flotilla 10 under the Coast Guard Administration's Fleet Branch aboard several dinghies intercepted a 6,000-ton Chinese sand dredger at a spot 2.1 nautical miles from Nangan, Matsu. The vessel had not only illegally entered restricted waters, but was also suspected of illegally dredging sand. The flotilla seized the ship and arrested the 11 crew members on board.

We discovered a China-registered sand dredger without a name at a distance of 2.1 nautical miles off the coast of Nangan's Tieban Village. It had illegally entered and was dredging sand. Coast Guard personnel filmed the entire operation of searching for evidence. A total of 10 personnel aboard three dinghies boarded the ship for inspection.

The CGA said all personnel involved in the operation wore personal protection equipment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lienchiang County Government also sent personnel to disinfect the ship, and the arrested crew members were sent into quarantine.

On Oct. 4, the 1,800 tons of sand the ship was carrying were unloaded in the waters off of Matsu, and the case was transferred to the Fuchien Lienchiang District Prosecutors' Office. The CGA's Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch said the vessel was confiscated. Since 2019, six sand dredgers and 23 fishing vessels have been confiscated in Matsu. Since the start of 2020, the CGA has driven away 376 sand dredgers, 318 fishing vessels, and other types of vessels for a total of 762.

Several days ago, a resident on a plane heading to Matsu saw numerous Chinese sand dredgers working at sea and filmed the scene. The footage also showed the ships continuously discharging yellow wastewater. The flotilla says the majority of these sand dredgers were operating outside of restricted or forbidden waters, not within the waters controlled by Taiwan. The Coast Guard will immediately intercept any vessel that enters restricted waters.



本月3號深夜的馬祖南竿海域2.1浬處，我國海巡隊員驚險地從小艇上，接續登上一艘中國抽砂船，因為這艘6000噸的抽砂船不只非法越界，超過禁限制水域，還涉嫌盜採砂石，當場被馬祖海巡隊扣押，並逮捕船上的11名船員。

馬祖海巡隊副隊長 駱天雄表示：「在南竿鐵板外(海)2.1海浬處，發現大陸籍無船名抽砂船，非法越界抽砂作業。那(海巡人員)全程錄影蒐證，那並由3艇、共10名值勤人員，以優勢警力，實施登檢。」

海巡署表示，由於正值疫情期間，海巡人員全程都穿著防疫裝備，之後也由連江縣派員實施消毒、對被捕船員進行檢疫。

馬祖海巡隊4號上午，也將抽砂船押往馬港海域卸沙回填1800公噸，全案交由連江地檢署偵辦。金馬澎分署表示，此案屬於帶案查扣，108年至今於馬祖帶案查扣共計6艘抽砂船、23艘漁船。而109年至今，共計驅離376艘抽砂船、318艘漁船及其他船舶68艘，共計762艘。

其實日前也有民眾直擊中國抽砂船盜抽台灣海砂，民眾在搭機返回馬祖時，拍下大量中國抽砂船遍布海面，船隻還不斷釋出泥黃色的廢水。馬祖海巡隊回應表示，這些抽砂船大多是在「禁限制水域」以外的航道上，不屬於管轄水域，但如果抽砂船駛入禁止水域，海巡人員就會立即前往執法。