Malaysia: MMEA detains tanker for illegal anchoring off Tanjung Piai

The Johor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Tuesday (23 September) detained a tanker off Johor earlier that day for anchoring without permission. 

Johor MMEA Acting Director Maritime Captain Kama Azri Kamil said the tanker was detained about four nautical miles west of Tanjung Piai around 5.30am. 

He said after the Johor Maritime Operations Centre received information of the vessel, it deployed the PERKASA 42 vessel to the location while patrols were being conducted. 

“Further inspection found there were 23 crew on board the vessel comprising 19 Indian nationals, two Tanzanian nationals, a Myanmar national and an Egyptian citizen aged between 23 to 51 years. All the crew had valid identification documents,” he said.

However, the captain failed to present any documentation of permission to anchor in Malaysian waters. 

“The vessel was detained on suspicion of committing an offence under Section 491B(1)(l) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952,” he said. Some local media have reported that the vessel was registered in Panama. 

The Chief Officer, Chief Engineer and several documents related to the tanker were also detained and taken to the Sungai Pulai Malaysian Maritime Jetty before being handed over to the Johor State Maritime Investigating Officer for further action.

Photo credit: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
Published: 25 September, 2025