REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PONTIANAK -- Maritime and Fisheries Ministry needs a number of mother ships to secure Indonesian seas from illegal fishing, an official of the ministry said.

However, Director General of Maritime and Fisheries Resources Control Asep Burhanudin said the fund for the ships procurement is yet to be allocated in the 2016 state budget.

The idea about the mother ships came from Maritime and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, Asep said after overseeing the explosion and sinking on Tuesday in the sea off Lemukutran, West Kalimantan five foreign fishing vessels found illegally operating in Indonesian waters.

The ministry in cooperation with navy sank more than 35 such ships in a number of areas on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the country's independence.

Asep said the mother ships would serve not only to store up frozen fishes, but also to carry logistics and fuels, and for training and as health post.

"If we have only four units of mother ship to post at Arafuru sea, North Sulawesi sea, Natuna sea and the Makassar strait, control would be easier in the seas," he said.

Asep said the maritime and fisheries ministry did not need more ships for sea surveillance.

The existing ships owned by the ministry would be enough with the help of the navy and police, he said.

He said the ministry already has 27 units of surveillance ship that could operate the whole year with fuel enough for 280 days.

It is different from the condition in 2014 when the ships could operate only for 60 days a year on shortage of fuel, he said.

In 2014, the maritime and fisheries ministry already examined 1,600 ships and 34 of them were legally processed.

The number rose in 2015 with examination already covering 2,216 ships and 39 of them going to court.

The number is expected to increase until the end of this year, he said.

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