TAWAU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has detained two vessels in separate incidents for breaching maritime laws in east coast waters.
MMEA patrol boat KM Kidurong detained a local cargo boat found to be in violation of its licensing conditions and immigration laws during Ops Pluto Timur, Ops Sejahtera dan Ops Tiris 1.9 nautical miles southwest Batu Tinagat, Tawau at 10.30 am on Oct 26.
Initial inspections revealed that the 30-year-old Indonesian skipper failed to present valid travel documents, producing only a dubious passport copy without a proper permit.
Further checks found the vessel itself was operating in breach of its license, as it carried no crew list and had failed to report a change of skipper.
The boat license was seized, and the case is being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 and the Immigration Act 1959/63.
MMEA Tawau deputy director (Operations) Komander Maritim Norihan Ngah urged the maritime community to strictly adhere to licensing conditions.
He emphasized that the MMEA “will not compromise with any offences, even minor ones.”
In a separate incident, MMEA Lahad Datu detained an unregistered pump boat suspected of illegal fish bombing off Pulau Tabawan, Kunak at 4.30 pm on Oct 27.
MMEA Lahad Datu Zone director, Komander Maritim Dzulfikhar Ali, stated that the arrest was made after “two men on the suspected pump boat jumped into the sea and swam towards the nearby shore to escape” upon spotting the MMEA patrol boat.
An inspection uncovered approximately 10 kilogrammes of fish, believed to have been caught using explosives. The case is being investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985.
Both vessels have been towed to their respective jetties for further investigation. – James Leong
