MMEA Detains Ship Anchored Illegally In Tanjung Piai Waters

PONTIAN, Sept 23 (Bernama) – The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained a tanker after it was detected anchoring without permission approximately four nautical miles west of Tanjung Piai this morning.

Johor Maritime Acting Director, Maritime Captain Kama Azri Kamil, said his team received information about the incident from the state Maritime Operations Centre and the PERKASA 42 vessel was deployed to the location as part of the Ops Jaksa, Ops Todak, and Ops Tiris 3.0 patrols, and subsequently detained the ship at 5:30 am.

"The inspection found 23 crew members, comprising 19 Indian nationals, two Tanzanian nationals, one Myanmar national, and one Egyptian national, aged between 23 and 51.

"All crew members were found to have valid identification documents, but the captain failed to produce any documentation of permission to anchor in Malaysian waters from the Director of the Malaysian Marine Department," he said in a statement today.

Kama Azri said the chief officer and chief engineer, along with several documents related to the tanker, were also detained and taken to the Sungai Pulai Malaysian Maritime Jetty before being handed over to an investigating officer for further action.

"The vessel, which is registered in Panama, was detained on suspicion of committing an offence under Section 491B(1)(l) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952.

"Therefore, enforcement in Johor waters will continue to be stepped up, and we will not compromise with any violation of the law that could threaten the safety of the country's waters," he said.

Members of the public with information about any crimes or suspicious activities at sea can channel it to the MERS 999 emergency line or contact the Johor State Maritime Operations Centre at 07-2199401.

--BERNAMA