The Selangor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Sunday (18 May) said it detained a Liberia-registered container ship for anchoring without permission at 22.5 nautical miles southwest of Sekinchan at about 1.20pm on 16 May.

Selangor Maritime director Maritime Captain Maritime Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh said the Klang Area Control Centre’s Maritime Surveillance System detected the position of the suspicious vessel at about 9.20am. 

He said checks with the Central Region Maritime Department found that the container ship did not apply for permission to anchor. 

Preliminary inspection found that the ship was registered in Liberia and is operated by a 44-year-old Russian captain along with 23 crew from various nationalities aged between 32 to 50 years. All of them had complete identification documents.

Further investigation found that the captain of the ship failed to present any documents showing permission to anchor. 

Following that, Abdul Muhaimin said a detention order was issued for the vessel while the captain and a Second Engineer were brought to the Selangor Maritime Department headquarters for further investigations. 

The case is being investigated under the Merchant Ship Ordinance 1952 for docking without permission from the Malaysian Marine Department director-general. 

“If found guilty, they could be imposed a fine of not more than MYR 100,000 or a jail term of two years or both,” he said. 

Photo credit: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
Published: 19 May, 2025

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) on Wednesday (23 April) said it detained a tanker for anchoring without permission at 5.9 nautical miles west of Pulau Pintu Gedong at about 3.15pm on 22 April. 

The ship was operated by a 36-year-old Thai captain with 16 crew members aged between 20 and 55 years, consisting of 13 Thais including two women, two Myanmar nationals and an Indonesian national.

The inspection found that the ship had committed an offence under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 by not obtaining permission from the Director-General of the Malaysian Maritime Department and for failing to fly the Malaysian flag. 

The tanker’s Second Deck Officer and Second Engineer were taken to the Pulau Indah marine police jetty for further action.

Photo credit: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
Published: 24 April, 2025

A Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier, Alpha, was arrested in Singapore waters on Friday (21 March). 

The vessel was added to the list of vessels under Sheriff’s arrest in Singapore’s court system. 

According to the list, the vessel was arrested at 1.11am and the arresting solicitor listed was law firm Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP. The ship is currently held at Eastern Special Purposes A Anchorage, A/5617C.

No details were provided in the list regarding the reason behind the arrest.

Photo credit: MarineTraffic / Andy Ru
Published: 25 March, 2024