cutter's shells hit the after starboard side, so the trawler turned reversed course and headed for the shore.Scotti, p 75 As a result of a civilian junk passing through the battle area the Market Time ships had to cease fire. Two United States Army helicopters were directed to engage the trawler with rockets and miniguns at 0129 and after their attack a reduction in the amount of fire coming from the trawler was noticed. At 0140 Point Grey, Point Welcome, PCF-18 and PCF-20 were ordered to take the trawler under fire with mortars and machine guns at close range because the trawler had moved too close to shore for Androscoggin to maneuver.Johnson, p 336 Point Welcome struck the trawler twice with 81-millimeter rounds. The trawler then grounded 50 yards off the mouth of the Tha Cau River at 0210. At 0220, the North Vietnamese tried to scuttle their ship and failed but a second attempt at 0235 succeeded in destroying the vessel in a 500-foot fireball. The explosion caused some damage to the pilothouse of Point Welcome and the deck was littered with debris but no casualties were reported. Other action on 1 March shadowed the trawler designated as the Bình Định Province Trawler (map reference #4) but soon after being detected, the trawler turned around and headed back out to sea without being engaged. It was apparently headed for the Lo Dien area 42 miles north of Qui Nhơn.Kelley, p 5-430 The trawler never got any closer to the coast than 30 miles and after she reversed course was monitored by aircraft until she approached the coast of the People's Republic of China. While on Market Time patrol duties on 1 March, discovered an abandoned junk at anchor 52 miles southeast of Da Nang. After a search of the area failed to locate persons in the water, the junk was boarded and items were found of a Communist Chinese origin including a Communist Chinese flag. The junk was hoisted on board Persistent'' and delivered to Da Nang for further inspection. Aftermath The destruction of three of the four trawlers and the turning back of the fourth demonstrated that Operation Market Time was an effective net for the interception of supplies destined for resupply of the Viet Cong. Except for the 1 March trawlers and one other instance in the days after Tet 1968 no other trawlers were spotted between