The Malacca & Negeri Sembilan state division of Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Thursday (31 December) said it detained a Malta-registered tanker MT Tahiti (IMO No. 9600877) for anchoring illegally in southwestern Malacca waters on Wednesday afternoon.
“The vessel was found 4.9 nautical miles southwest of Pulau Upeh after a tipoff from the Malacca Marine Department’s patrol team,” said Maritime Commander Azman bin Samsudin, Deputy Director (Operations), MMEA Malacca & Negeri Sembilan.
“MT Tahiti was detained around 1.15 pm after failing to produce any anchoring permit from the Malaysia Marine Department.”
The vessel had 26 crew onboard aged between 19 to 56 years old from the Hellenic Republic, Romania, the Philippines and Russia.
The case will be investigated under Section 491B(1)(L) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 for anchoring without a permit.
MMEA said it will continue to increase its efforts to increase safety in Malaysian waters and urges the public to report any suspicious activity in Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to its 24-hour hotline 06-3876730.
A series of MMEA detentions was reported by Manifold Times (below) in 2020:
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Photo credit: Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency
Published: 4 January, 2020
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