Three vessels detained for illegal sand dredging off Langat coast

KLANG: The Selangor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has detained three dredgers operating without the permission off the Langat coast.

State MMEA director Maritime Captain Siva Kumar Vengadasalam said the three dredgers were detained at around 12.15am on Tuesday (May 23).

"The vessels were detected by a MMEA patrol boat less than 5.6 nautical miles south-west of Carey Island.

"The three ships are suspected of doing sand dredging and sand transfer activities at sea," he said in a statement on Wednesday (May 24).

He said when the patrol boat tried to approach one of the vessels, it tried to escape but was later detained and brought back to the location of the other two ships.

"Investigations revealed that the three dredgers were testing machinery and did not have permission to run dredging activities.

"The three vessels were run by a captain and four men believed to be Chinese nationals," he said, adding that the captain and crew did not have any identification documents.

He said a detention order has been issued on the three ships.

"We are investigating the incident under the Continental Shelf Act 1966, the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 and the Customs Act 1967.

Those with complaints and information about criminal activities and emergencies at sea can contact the Selangor MMEA operations centre at 03-3176 0627 or MERS 999.