Farasan Island Gov. Hussein Al-Dajani said the Border Guard patrols seized an Egyptian boat on Tuesday, which had strayed into the Kingdom’s territorial waters.

The boat was carrying a group of Egyptian fishermen using dragnets, which is a violation of Saudi fishing laws, he added.

According to Al-Dajani, the same vessel had earlier crossed Saudi marine borders and was released on a directive issued by the Jazan governor following the fishermen’s pledge to refrain from infiltrating the Kingdom’s borders again. He said that an investigation was currently under way.

In a related development, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and consulate in Jeddah has issued a statement regarding the seizing of two Egyptian fishing boats, the latter with 35 fishermen on board. They said that this boat was directed to Farasan port, about 50 km from Jazan.