Navy confirms Cambodian fishing boat seized in Thai waters

February 23, 2026 — Following claims from Cambodia that Thai authorities crossed into Cambodian waters to detain a fishing boat, a timeline of the operation by patrol craft T.996 has been released, with the Royal Thai Navy insisting the detention took place within Thai waters, about 2 nautical miles (Nm) inside the Thai-Cambodia maritime boundary.

According to the timeline, on February 22, 2026, at 7.00am, patrol craft T.996 departed Khlong Yai pier, Khlong Yai district, Trat, to carry out a patrol mission in its area of responsibility. Officers later spotted a suspicious vessel.

At 9.30am, officers detected a stateless fishing boat actively fishing in Thai waters, having intruded about 2 nautical miles from the Thai-Cambodia maritime boundary line. Officers then identified themselves, conducted a search, and detained the boat.

The detention was carried out under Section 4 of the Act authorising naval officers to suppress certain maritime offences, 1947, which allows naval officers to take control of a vessel at the coordinates Lat 11° 32.63’ N, Long 102° 50.54’ E, or bearing 185, distance 13.4 miles from Khlong Yai pier, and approximately 1 nautical mile from boundary line 211.

“The coordinates confirm the detention was carried out in accordance with the law and clearly within Thailand’s maritime sovereignty,” the navy said.

Officers found three Cambodian crew members with no vessel documents and no personal identification documents. All three reportedly confessed they were hired by a Cambodian boat owner and went out to fish as part of a group of multiple boats, while claiming they did not know they had entered Thai waters.

The vessel controller and the three crew members were identified as:

• Mr Ngum Ruot, 33, Cambodian national — vessel controller
• Mr Chun Pieab, 41, Cambodian national — crew member
• Mr Neang Chanra, 26, Cambodian national — crew member

The boat was described as stateless, with an engine without a serial number. It is a wooden fishing boat painted green with a white stripe, with a white cabin, with no vessel name and no bow number. The boat is approximately 3 metres wide, 11 metres long, and 1.5 metres high, and is fitted with one HYUNDAI four-cylinder engine.

After the detention, patrol craft T.996 escorted the boat and all crew members back to the Khlong Yai multipurpose pier in Trat. At 2.00pm, the vessel was brought alongside successfully, and legal proceedings are to follow.