The Coastguard unit of Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) is active just outisde of Noonu atoll Maalhendhoo after an unidentified foreign fishing vessel was sighted.
According to MNDF, they had received report of an unidentified fishing vessel traversing just outside of Maalhendhoo, around Saturday morning.
Coastguard confirms they received the sighting report sometime around 11:30hrs of Saturday morning. Meanwhile, authorities have yet to identify the vessel's country of origin.
Being an island nation, Maldives has a unique border across the ocean surrounding all of its islands - with majority of the country's area consisting of ocean.
Several foreign fishing vessels venture into the Maldivian waters illegally for fishing activities. The ocean is also primarily used as a smuggling route for contraband including narcotics.
