MMEA Kelantan detains Thai registered oil tanker for entering Malaysian waters illegally
- Published
by Admin
The Kelantan state division of Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Sunday (21 March) said it detained a Thailand registered tanker for entering the country illegally on Thursday, 18 March.
“The vessel was discovered 110 nautical miles from the Tok Bali Estuary at 8.00 am by the MMEA’s patrol team,” said Maritime Captain Muhd Nur Syam Asmawie bin Yaacob, Director, MMEA Kelantan.
MMEA noted there were 8 crew onboard who were a mix of Thai and Cambodian nationals aged between 18 to 60 years.
Separately, MMEA Kelantan detained a Vietnamese fishing vessel on Friday, 19 March for entering Malaysian waters and harvesting sea cucumbers illegally.
Captains of both vessels were unable to produce any identification documents at the time.
Both vessels and all crew onboard have been detained for further investigations and MMEA estimates the vessels and sea cucumbers to be worth MYR 1.6 million (USD 389,295).
Maritime Captain Nur Syam reminded all shipowners any activity in Malaysian waters requires the appropriate permits to be issued by the authorities in order to avoid legal action being taken and that the MMEA is being vigilant to safeguard security in Malaysian waters.
A series of earlier MMEA detentions have been reported by Manifold Times (below):
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Photo credit: MMEA
Published: 22 March, 2021
