FUJAIRAH // An Emirati and four Asian fishermen have been in detention for more than a week after entering Omani waters without a licensed captain on board.
Abdullah Al Naqbi, 21, and his crew left Al Bidya in Fujairah on April 14 for a fishing trip. They were picked up by Omani police on the same day, said Mohammed Khameis, the boat’s owner.
“I called the captain to check the coordinates of the boat and they were away from the Omani borders, they were 24 kilometres away from the shore,” Mr Khameis said. “The sea was rough that day and the water could take you anywhere.
“The borders are not clear and the fishermen didn’t intend to cross the borders.”
The five were held at Oman’s Dibba Al Baya police station during investigations until Wednesday, when they were moved to Muscat to begin their trial.
Mr Khameis said news of the court case greatly upset Mr Al Naqbi’s family, and his father would travel to Muscat to be with his son and try to have him freed.
“We tried to bail them out but the authorities refused for investigation purposes,” Mr Khameis said. “These things happened in the past but this is the first time authorities refuse the request for bail.
“I was working on obtaining a captain’s licence for Abdullah before the incident but it takes about two months to obtain one. The procedures were easier in the past.”
Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National, reported that Abdullah's father Jasim Al Naqbi said his son set off on the boat from Al Bidya fishing port as the boat's captain, although he did not have a captain's or vice captain's licence.
He also did not know much about the sea, Mr Al Naqbi said, having only gone out three times. He was not registered with Al Bidya Fishermen’s Association as a fisherman.
Hamdan Sulaiman, head of Al Bidya Fishermen’s Association, said the boat took off from Al Bidya shores but was registered with the Khor Fakkan Fishermen’s Association.
Mr Sulaiman said that all fishermen should have a fishing licence before they set out.
“We heard about the incident but the boat is not registered with us. It’s not allowed to sail without having any licence,” he said.
Mr Al Naqbi Sr said he had visited his son twice this week at Dibba Al Baya police station. Bail was denied, the father said, because his son was still under investigation.
Salah Al Raisi, director of the fisheries department at the Ministry of Environment and Water, confirmed that because Mr Al Naqbi did not hold a licence, the trip was illegal.
rhaza@thenational.ae