PORT KLANG: Two dredgers have been detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) for anchoring without permission in the waters of Kuala Selangor.
Selangor MMEA director Maritime Captain V. Siva Kumar said the two dredgers were detained at around 11am on Monday (June 27).
"An operation was carried out with two members of the Port Klang Marine Department to conduct an inspection of the dredgers anchored near Pantai Acheh.
"One of our boats was deployed to the location to stop the MV Inai Terasek and MV Inai Kenanga.
"Both ships were found anchored, without permission from the Malaysia Marine Department director-general, approximately 0.5 nautical miles east of Pantai Acheh," he said in a statement on Tuesday (June 28).
He said checks revealed that the dredger MV Inai Terasek was operated by two Malaysians and four Indonesians while the crew of MV Inai Kenanga consisted of 13 locals, four Indonesians, a Myanmar national and a Filipino national.
"All of them have valid documents.
"Further checks revealed that the captains failed to submit any documents requesting permission to anchor and were suspected of having committed an offence under Section 491 B (1) (I) Merchant Shipping Ordinance (MSO) 1952 for docking without permission from the director-general," he said.
He added that the vessels, captains and crew of the two dredgers were taken to the MMEA state headquarters for further investigation.
He advised shipping company operators or shipowners to apply for permission to anchor from the Malaysian Marine Department before anchoring and performing any activity in Malaysian waters.
Those with complaints and information on maritime criminal activities as well as any emergency at sea should contact the Selangor MMEA Operations Centre at 03-3176 0627 or the MERS 999 emergency line for immediate action.
