JOHOR BAHRU: The Johor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained two vessels involved in illegally transferring 7,000 tonnes of Marine Fuel Oil (MFO), worth RM24.5 million, east of Tanjung Sedili Besar in Kota Tinggi yesterday.
Its director, Nurul Hizam Zakaria (pix) said the impounding of the vessels, registered in Penang and Panama, was made at 32 nautical miles (nm) east of Tanjung Sedili Besar, between 10.50 am and 11.30 am by the Malaysian Maritime Police.
“The tanker that was registered in Penang had a 10-man crew comprising a local, eight Indonesians and one from Myanmar whereas the Panama-registered vessel was manned by an 18-member crew comprising 12 Indian and six Pakistan nationals.
“The crew, aged between 25 and 59, held valid identification documents. They are believed to have transferred the MFO to avoid the need to obtain approval from the Malaysian government.
“We will investigate all aspects including whether the fuel came from legal or illegal sources,“ he told reporters in a press conference here today.
Meanwhile, Nurul Hizam said in the same operation that there were two other vessels detained for the offence of anchoring without permission.
He said one vessel was a merchant ship registered in Douglas, Australia which had a 22-member Filipino crew. It was seized at 11.9 nautical miles (nm) east of Tanjung Siang, Kota Tinggi, at 11.40 am.
“Also seized was a Zanzibar-registered tanker, with five Indonesian crew at 12 nm east of Tanjung Balau, Kota Tinggi,” he said.-Bernama