LAHAD DATU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained two boats off Pulau Sakar waters on Friday for modifying one of the boat’s fuel tank and failure to inform change of skipper.
Lahad Datu Maritime Zone Director, Maritime Commander Dzulfikhar Ali, said MMEA personnel detected the suspicious boats at 2.55pm while carrying “Ops Pluto Timur/Ops Tiris” duties in the area.
Advertisement“Upon inspection, one of the boats was operated by an Indonesian and a sea gypsy while the other local fishing boat was operated by an Indonesian and six sea gypsies,” he said.
The boats’ crew arrested.
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“Further inspection found that the boats committed offences under the Fisheries Act 1985 for modifying its fuel tank without permission and having an expired licence.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“The fishing boat committed an offence under the Sabah Ports and Harbour Enactment for failing to report a change of skipper,” he said.
Dzulfikhar said all the seizures were estimated worth RM350,000.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});He added that all the crew members and the boats were taken to Lahad Datu Fishery Jetty before being handed over to the Investigation Officer for further action.