MERSING: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained two local fishing vessels off south Pulau Tinggi at 11am on Tuesday (March 21).
MMEA Mersing Zone Comm Maritime Suhaizan Saadin said the vessels were apprehended at 1.0 nautical mile or 1.85km from the island.
“They were detained by our men when patrolling the area during Ops Jaksa/Ops Mardo Barat,’’ he said in a statement on Wednesday (March 22).
Suhaizan said that the investigation found that the owners of the vessels had committed the offences by adding additional space and modifying the oil tanks.
“The owners had violated the valid licence conditions by adding the extra space and modifying the oil tanks on the vessels,’’ he added.
Suhaizan said there were 11 Indonesian crew members on board the vessels including captains aged between 25 and 44.
He said the vessels together with the crew were brought to the Teluk Gading jetty and they were handed over to the MMEA investigation team for further action.
The case is being investigated under Section 8 (b) of the Fisheries Act 1985, which is a violation of the valid conditions of the license as stipulated under the Act.
Suhaizan also urged those with information on maritime crimes and emergency cases at sea to contact the Johor Maritime Operations Centre at 07-2199404 or MERS 999.
