The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Thursday (7 May) said it detained two foreign tugboats in eastern waters of Johor for illegally transporting and storing an undocumented oil cargo, believed to be marine gas oil (MGO).
Johor MMEA acting director Maritime Captain Kama Azri Kamil said the total value of the seized tugboats and MGO was worth MYR 19.55 million (USD 5 million).
He said the first tugboat was detained around 10.50 pm at 1.5 nautical miles southeast off Tanjung Bulat before another vessel was detained about 40 minutes later at 3 nautical miles southeast of the same area.
“The investigation found, both tug boats were registered in Tanzania and operated by 10 Indonesians aged between 26 and 54 years,” said Captain Kama Azri.
“Initial investigation found that the vessels failed to report arrival when entering the country’s waters, in total violation of Article 10 of the Port Rules 1954.”
Captain Kama Azri added that initial investigation found the tugboats had failed to report their arrival to Malaysian authorities when entering the country’s waters.
In addition, there were suspicious modifications to the vessels’ tanks including the water tank being modified to an oil storage tank.
The case is being investigated under the Customs Act 1967 while all crew members were detained under Section 51(5)(b) of the Immigration Act 1959/1963 to help further investigation.
Photo credit: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
Published: 8 May, 2026
