MERSING: Two foreign tugboats with 17 men onboard have been detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) for illegal anchoring.
Mersing maritime zone director Maritime Comm Suhaizan Saadin said the vessels were spotted at 0.4 nautical miles (about 740m) northwest of Pulau Besar near here at around 11pm on Tuesday (Jan 6).
“When the MMEA team was patrolling the area, they found that the tugboats did not report their arrival into local waters after coming from Singapore.
“The vessels, which were carrying iron ore, had also anchored without a permit from Malaysia’s Marine Department, which is against the law,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Jan 8).
Suhaizan said there were 17 Indonesian crewmen and captains, aged 38 to 51, onboard both vessels, and they have been brought to the Mersing maritime jetty.
He added that they were detained to assist in investigation under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952.
He said continued maritime surveillance would be carried out and those with emergencies can report to the Johor maritime operations centre at 07-2199 404 or call 999 for immediate assistance.
