The boat’s skipper, Nguyen Thanh Bien, told the Tien Phong news site that his boat was chased on Sunday by two ships with hull numbers 101 and 301. He said they sent three smaller boats to trap his vessel in a pincer maneuver, enabling men in camouflage to climb aboard and attack the crew. “I tried to run towards the bow of the ship, however, two people held me and attacked me so hard that I lost consciousness. I woke up about an hour later,” he said.
Bien radioed the Vietnamese border guard on Sunday afternoon, telling them several crew members had broken arms and legs, while the others had unspecified injuries. He also asked for help from Vietnam’s regional Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center.
