Crime

Malaysia: MMEA seizes tugboat and tanker lorry for illegal fuel transfer

MMEA successfully apprehended a Myanmar national who was captain of ship and four crew members comprising two Indonesians, one Myanmar national and a local citizen, as well as a tanker lorry driver.

Published

1 year ago

April 15, 2024

Admin

Malaysia: MMEA seizes tugboat and tanker lorry for illegal fuel transfer

The Tawau Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Tuesday (9 April) detained a tugboat and a tanker lorry that were found to be carrying out an illegal fuel transfer in the waters of Tanjung Batu, Tawau.

MMEA Tawau Zone Director Shahrizan Raman said patrol boats received information from Tawau Maritime Zone intelligence unit regarding the operation at Komsa Tanjung Batu jetty at around 2.10 am.

Patrol boats that arrived at the scene found a tanker lorry on the jetty transferring about 10,000 litres of fuel to a tugboat.

Malaysia: MMEA seizes tugboat and tanker lorry for illegal fuel transfer

During the raid, MMEA successfully apprehended a Myanmar national who was the ship captain and four crew members comprising two Indonesians, one Myanmar national and a local citizen. The tanker lorry driver, a local, was also arrested in the operation.

All suspects were men and aged 32 to 57 years. MMEA added an inspection of their documents found no authorisation permits related to the fuel transfer activity.

MMEA said the boat and tanker lorry were seized with their fuel cargo before being escorted to the Tawau Maritime Zone Jetty for further investigation.

Malaysia: MMEA seizes tugboat and tanker lorry for illegal fuel transfer

The value of the seized items and fuel was estimated to be almost MYR 250,000.

This case is being investigated under the Customs Act 1967, Control of Supplies Act 1961 and Petroleum Development Act 1974.

Photo credit: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
Published: 15 April 2024

Related Topics:Legal - Crime Legal - Vessel arrest

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Four Dutch seafarers slapped with fines for 2024 Singapore bunker spill

Merijn Heidema, Eric Peijpers, Martin Hans Sinke, and Richard Ouwehand, who were crewmen of dredger “Vox Maxima”, were each handed fines of between SGD 20,000 and SGD 40,000.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2025

Admin

Four Dutch men, who were crew members of Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima when it crashed into a Singapore-flagged bunker vessel in 2024 and caused a major bunker spill in Singapore, were each handed fines in a Singapore court on Thursday (2 April), according to The Straits Times.

Merijn Heidema, 26, who was a third engineer at the time of the incident, and Eric Peijpers, 56, then a second engineer, were each fined SGD 40,000. Both were the officers in charge of the engineering watch at the time.

Richard Ouwehand, 49, who was Vox Maxima’s master, and Martin Hans Sinke, 48, then the vessel’s chief officer and in charge of its navigational watch, were each fined SGD 20,000.

Manifold Times previously reported that all four men pleaded guilty for failing to discharge their duties properly.

Heidema, Peijpers, Sinke, and Ouwehand pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 at the State Courts.

Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour was hit by Vox Maxima at Pasir Panjang Terminal on 14 June last year, which resulted in an oil spill in Singapore waters.

The crash caused one of Marine Honour’s oil cargo tanks to rupture, releasing 400 metric tonnes (mt) of low-sulphur fuel oil into the sea.

The dredger lost propulsion and steering control before crashing into Marine Honour.

Related: Dutch crew members plead guilty over their role in major 2024 Singapore bunker spill
Related: Four Dutch seafarers charged for alleged roles in causing Singapore oil spill
Related: Thirteen deficiencies flagged during inspection for dredger involved in Singapore oil spill
Related: Singapore oil spill: Minister refutes claim that contractor was slow in preventing further spillage
Related: MPA: Claims exceeding liability of “Marine Honour” owner will be made against international fund
Related: MPA: Owner of bunker tanker involved in Singapore oil spill is liable for pollution damage
Related: Malaysia to look into demands of Johor fisherman affected by oil spill from Singapore
Related: Singapore oil spill: Clean-up enters next phase of cleaning rock bunds
Related: MPA: Clean-up ops continue following oil spill in Singapore, affected beaches closed
Related: Singapore: Oil spill cleanup after allision between dredger “Vox Maxima” and bunker tanker “Marine Honour”

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 3 April, 2025

Legal

Dutch crew members plead guilty over their role in major 2024 Singapore bunker spill

Merijn Heidema, Eric Peijpers, Martin Hans Sinke, and Richard Ouwehand, who are crewmen of dredger “Vox Maxima”, pleaded guilty for failing to discharge their duties properly at the State Courts on 12 March.

Published

2 months ago

March 13, 2025

Admin

Four Dutch crew members of Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima, which crashed into a Singapore-flagged bunker vessel in 2024 and caused a major bunker spill in Singapore, on Wednesday (12 March) pleaded guilty for failing to discharge their duties properly, according to media reports.

Merijn Heidema, 26, Eric Peijpers, 56, Martin Hans Sinke, 48, and Richard Ouwehand, 49, pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 at the State Courts.

Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour was hit by Vox Maxima at Pasir Panjang Terminal on 14 June last year, which resulted in an oil spill in Singapore waters.

The crash caused one of Marine Honour’s oil cargo tanks to rupture, releasing 400 metric tonnes (mt) of low-sulphur fuel oil into the sea.

The dredger lost propulsion and steering control before crashing into Marine Honour.

Court documents reportedly revealed that on the morning of 14 June 2024, a circuit breaker controlling the flow of electrical power from one of the dredger’s main generators to a step-down transformer was opened for maintenance works to be conducted.

The circuit breaker remained open after the maintenance works were completed that morning.

Peijpers, a second engineer, and Heidema, a third engineer, who were the officers in charge of the engineering watch at the time, did not check the condition of the circuit breakers.

This eventually led to another circuit breaker tripping, which then led to the loss of steering and propulsion control of the dredger.

Heidema and Peijpers also failed to ensure a sufficient reserve of power was available for Vox Maxima’s steering gear when the engine room was put in a standby condition.

Upon the loss of steering control, both Ouwehand and Sinke, who were responsible to carry out emergency steering, did not do so.

The prosecution sought fines of between SGD 40,000 and SGD 50,000 each for Heidema and Peijpers and fines between SGD 20,000 and SGD 30,000 each for Ouwehand and Sinke.

The four Dutch crew members are expected to be sentenced on 2 April.

Related: Four Dutch seafarers charged for alleged roles in causing Singapore oil spill
Related: Thirteen deficiencies flagged during inspection for dredger involved in Singapore oil spill
Related: Singapore oil spill: Minister refutes claim that contractor was slow in preventing further spillage
Related: MPA: Claims exceeding liability of “Marine Honour” owner will be made against international fund
Related: MPA: Owner of bunker tanker involved in Singapore oil spill is liable for pollution damage
Related: Malaysia to look into demands of Johor fisherman affected by oil spill from Singapore
Related: Singapore oil spill: Clean-up enters next phase of cleaning rock bunds
Related: MPA: Clean-up ops continue following oil spill in Singapore, affected beaches closed
Related: Singapore: Oil spill cleanup after allision between dredger “Vox Maxima” and bunker tanker “Marine Honour”

Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 13 March, 2025

Legal

Shell MGO bunker heist: Man sentenced to jail for hindering police investigations

Wong Wai Seng was reportedly sentenced to two months’ jail for lying to police on the whereabouts of three bunker clerks involved in the heist and relaying instructions for them to stay out of Singapore.

Published

3 months ago

February 3, 2025

Admin

A man, who was an operations executive with Singapore-based Sentek Marine & Trading (Sentek), was sentenced to two months’ jail on Friday (31 January), according to CNA.

Wong Wai Seng lied to police about the whereabouts of three bunker clerks involved in the Shell Pulau Bukom fuel heist.

Wong pleaded guilty to one charge of perverting the course of justice while four charges of abetting corruption by giving the bunker clerks bribes to remain outside of Singapore and avoid investigations were considered in sentencing.

Manifold Times previously reported three bunker clerks, previously employed by Sentek, being charged in Court for offences under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA) and the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

They were Singaporeans Wong Kuin Wah, Wong Wai Meng, and Boo Pu Wen.

It was alleged that Wai Meng, Kuin Wah and Pu Wen intentionally aided Sentek in acquiring property which was another person’s benefits from criminal conduct, by assisting to receive on board their respective vessels, gasoil which had been dishonestly misappropriated from Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd’s facility (Shell Pulau Bukom).

They were charged for offences under Section 47(3) of the CDSA, read with Section 109 of the Penal Code, and punishable under Section 47(6)(a) of the CDSA.

CNA reported that Wai Seng relayed instructions from Sentek’s managing director Pai Keng Pheng to the bunker clerks including instructing them to leave Singapore in January 2018. This resulted in Wai Meng, who is Wai Seng’s brother, leaving for Medan.

Wong also told Boo and Wong Kuin Wah who were on board different Sentek vessels, to not return to shore.

On Pai's instructions, Wong also told the bunker clerks to throw away their work phones, which contained messages relating to the fuel heist.

The trio remained in hiding at D'Merlion Hotel in Batam for almost three years until January 2021, when they returned to Singapore and were arrested.

Wong Wai Meng was sentenced to seven years, four months and two weeks’ jail for helping the company acquire more than 28,000 metric tonnes (mt) of the misappropriated fuel worth USD 13.58 million (SGD 18.26 million)

Meanwhile, Wong Kuin Wah was sentenced to seven years and six months’ jail on 18 November for his role in misappropriating more than 27,000 tonnes of gas oil worth around USD 12.8 million (SGD 17.2 million).

The third individual who was charged, Boo Pu Wen, reportedly passed away in July 2023 and had his charges abated following his death, meaning Boo’s court proceedings over his 19 charges at the time came to an end.

Former Shell employees, who were key members of a group who dishonestly misappropriated fuel from Shell Pulau Bukom, were sentenced to jail in court earlier.

Earlier coverage of developments by Manifold Times regarding the Shell MGO bunker heist can be found below: