KOTA TINGGI: Two vessels have been impounded by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here for anchoring illegally in waters off eastern Johor.
Johor MMEA Tanjung Sedili acting director Maritime Commander Mohd Najib Sam said one of the vessels, a Hong Kong-registered cargo ship was detected at about 1pm on Friday (Jan 13) some 23.9 nautical miles north east of Tanjung Siang.
"Upon checks by the MMEA, it was found that the ship do not have any documents allowing it to anchor at the Johor waters.
"However, the 19 crewmen on board who are from the Philippines and China have valid travel documents," he said in a statement here on Saturday (Jan 14).
He added that they are between 25 and 53 years old.
He noted that the second vessel was a Panama-registered tanker that was impounded some 31 nautical miles north east of Tanjung Gemoh at about 4.10pm on the same day.
"There are 25 crewmen onboard who are from Ukraine, Pakistan, Iran, Georgia, India, the Philippines and Russia. They are between 27 and 53 years old.
"The captains of both vessels failed to produce documents from the MMEA for permission to anchor in Johor waters,” he said, adding that the cases were being investigated under Section 491B(1)(L) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952.
