DAMMAM: Fishermen in Jubail have complained of piracy near the Saudi-Iranian borders over the past two weeks.

“The piracy problem actually started during the Second Gulf War, near the international borders and in certain cases in Saudi regional waters, and has now intensified,” Khalil Al Khalidi, one of the affected fishermen, was quoted as saying by local media on Thursday.

Al-Khalidi said that a number of sailors stopped work two weeks ago in the fish port of Dubai and said that a representative from the Indian Embassy along with a port security officer went to see them and record their complaints. The authorities promised them that they would follow up on the cases, and the men went back to work after that.

However, he said, just three days ago, the fishermen faced problems from pirates.

Captain Omar Al-Aklabi, the official spokesperson of Border Guard in the Eastern Province, was quoted as saying that his force plays a major role in monitoring piracy around the clock, by coordinating rescue and search operations in the Arabian Gulf through its patrols in the area.

He, however, said that he had not heard anything about an official complaint regarding acts of alleged piracy.