The Johor state division of Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Thursday (15 October) said it managed to stop three vessels in eastern Johor waters from conducting illegal ship-to-ship oil transfers.
“The local maritime community had alerted the MMEA Tanjung Sedili to the suspicious ship-to-ship transfers on Wednesday (14 October) evening,” said First Maritime Admiral Nurul Hizam bin Zakaria, Director, MMEA Johor.
The MMEA patrol team who were on patrol arrived for an inspection around 7pm and discovered the three vessels sailing suspiciously close together about 14 nautical miles east of Tanjung Sedili.
The three vessels were a Comoros flagged Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), a Labuan registered oil tanker and an Indonesia registered supply boat, said the MMEA.
Initial investigations revealed the VLCC was transferring an oil cargo to the oil tanker, but neither vessel could produce the license required to conduct ship-to-ship transfers in the area.
The MMEA reported that the VLCC had 20 crew on board (19 Indian nationals, 1 Pakistani), the oil tanker had 24 crew on board (15 Indian nationals, 5 Ukrainians, 3 Russians), and the supply vessel was manned by 8 Indonesian crew.
“The detained vessels will be investigated under Section 491B(1)(L) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (MSO)1952 for anchoring without a permit and Section 491B(1)(K) for carrying out ship-to ship transfers illegally,
“Further investigations revealed that both vessels did not have the appropriate contract documents or insurance policies.”
MMEA added that it will continue to increase its efforts to heighten security in order to ensure the safety of vessels within Malaysian waters.
Photo credit: MMEA
Published: 16 October, 2020
Charterers should be aware of potential compliance issues in various contracts, Senior Associate at HFW shares with Manifold Times.
Kaohsiung court finds Chen Shih-hsien made ‘false declarations’ to deliver fuel to North Korean ship.
Parties have reached an amicable settlement at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday.
Vessel was the subject of an earlier US $117,700 bunker claim by Singapore-based Staroil Energy Pte Ltd.
Chembulk did not have enough facts to make claim and initiated lawsuit without completing analysis, it claims.
The M/V Marguerita of Mineralien Schiffahrt Spedition und Transport GmbH falsified log books.
The representative was providing clarification to a query from Manifold Times when asked if the bunkering licenses of the Hin Leong Trading affiliated company have been permanently revoked.
Patrizia Cosulich becomes first bunker tanker in Singapore to undertake its Mass Flow Meter extension test using the Master Mass Flow Meter, learns bunkering publication Manifold Times.
Bunker claims totalling SGD 628,000 for 88 deliveries of marine gas oil between the period of 7 February 2020 until 15 April 2020, according to documents obtained by Manifold Times.
Event welcomed over 1,100 attendees from 42 countries; delegates visited virtual booths about 4,800 times; while around 5,800 connections were made, according to data from organiser Informa.
Bunker suppliers and bunker craft operators may choose to carry out meter verification using either existing MIMO method OR with the use of a Master Meter.
Pai Kheng Pheng of Sentek Marine & Trading Pte Ltd on Thursday (8 October) was ordered remanded for a further week for investigations, AGC spokesperson informs Manifold Times.
