Captain, chief engineer of vessel detained after dropping anchor off Melaka

MELAKA: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained a merchant ship suspected of dropping anchor off Bandar Hilir here.

MMEA Negri Sembilan/Melaka director Maritime Captain Haris Fadzillah Abdullah, said the vessel that was registered in Liberia, West Africa, was detained about 4.8 nautical miles from the Bandar Hilir shoreline at 4pm on Wednesday (June 17).

He said the 235m-long vessel, registered as MT Marquessa, had no permission to anchor at the site.

"We have detained the captain and chief engineer of the vessel, who are both Filipinos.

"They are aged 63 and 56 years, respectively," he said on Friday (June 19).

He added that the case was being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 which provides fines of up to RM100,000 or jail term up to two years or both, upon conviction.