Officers of the Coast Guard Region No 3 Command and the HCM City Border Guard Command conduct an inspection of a vessel found transporting sea sand of unknown origin on December 25. — Photo courtesy of Việt Nam Coast Guard

HCM CITY — The Việt Nam Coast Guard Region No 3 Command based in HCM City has seized nearly 950 cubic metres of illegally transported sand and 11,500 litres of diesel oil of unknown origin during a series of patrols and inspections at sea.

The unit said on December 27 that the operations, carried out in coordination with the Long Hòa Border Guard Station under the HCM City Border Guard Command, uncovered two illegal sand transport cases and one case involving smuggled fuel.

At 8am on December 25, Coast Guard officers inspected barge BN-1301 in waters off HCM City after detecting suspicious signs.

They found the vessel carrying around 458 cubic metres of saline-contaminated sand.

Vessel captain Vũ Văn Sử, 50, of the northern port city of Hải Phòng, and five crew members were on board. Sử failed to furnish documents proving the origin of the sand.

Officers of the Coast Guard Region No 3 Command in coordination with the HCM City Border Guard Command inspect a vessel transporting diesel oil of unknown origin on December 25. — Photo courtesy of Việt Nam Coast Guard

 Two hours later, in the same maritime area, authorities checked another barge, HD-3044, captained by Bùi Văn Hải, 49, from Hải Phòng.

The vessel was found transporting approximately 490 cubic metres of sand without valid legal papers.

Earlier, in southern waters, Coast Guard Region No 3 Command officers inspected the fishing vessel KG-8794 TS, captained by Lê Văn Hồng, 51, from the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang (formerly Kiên Giang Province).

The captain admitted the vessel was carrying 11,500 litres of diesel but could not provide invoices or documents verifying its lawful origin.

The cases were brought ashore and handed over to officials for further investigation. — VNS