The Coast Guard service of the Kingdom of Bahrain has announced that Qatari authorities have seized three Bahraini boats with 16 sailors onboard over the past three days.

The Bahrain News Agency quoted Coast Guard Commander, Commodore Ala’a Siyadi, as saying, "This raises the number of boats seized by Qatar to 15 and the number of sailors in its custody to 20." The Coast Guard Commander added that some of the detentions go back to 2009.

He affirmed the importance of showing commitment to proper legal procedures in accordance with international conventions on maritime safety in this regard, saying that the Coast Guard has been taking the required steps to have the sailors and the boats released.