Three foreign ships detained by MMEA for illegal anchoring in Johor waters

KOTA TINGGI: Three vessels, including those from Barbados and Copenhagen, have been detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) for illegal anchoring in east Johor.

The agency’s acting director Maritime Comm Mohd Najib Sam said the first ship was spotted at around 11.30am on Monday (Dec 4).

He said the Port Klang-registered cargo ship had anchored 19.8 nautical miles (36.6km) east of Tanjung Sedili Kechil here.

“Shortly after that, we found a second cargo ship, registered at Bridgetown in Barbados, anchored 18.1 nautical miles (33.5km) northeast of Tanjung Penawar.

“During our patrol at around 5.30pm the same day, a third ship was found anchored 21.5 nautical miles (39.8km) east of Tanjung Penawar without a permit,” he said on Tuesday (Dec 5), adding that the ship was registered in Copenhagen.

Najib said all the captains of the ships failed to produce the necessary documents to anchor in Malaysian waters and they would be investigated under Section 491B(1)(L) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 that stipulates that ships must notify the Marine Director whenever engaging in various activities within Malaysian waters.

“The three vessels bring the total ships detained for various offences so far this year to 86 and we will continue monitoring maritime activities to ensure that our waters are safe,” he added.