TANJUNG MANIS: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here detained two tugboats and a barge along with 11 crew members for committing various offences yesterday (June 10).
MMEA Tanjung Manis director Commander Gilbert Tinggak Numpang said they were detained around 12.02 am during ‘Op Permai’ and ‘Op Tiris’ patrols.
The vessels, operated by 11 crew members including the skipper, were spotted suspiciously pulling a barge out of the Batang Rajang estuary, at about 1.7 nautical miles south of Tanjung Jerijeh.
“The crew, aged between 21 and 64, committed an offence under the Customs Act 1967 for failing to produce port clearance documents and the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for failing to produce apparatus allocation certificates.
“The crew comprising four locals and seven Indians along with the vessels, were then escorted to the Tanjung Manis Passenger Terminal Jetty for further investigations,” he said.
Gilbert advised the maritime community to comply with the laws before carrying out any activities at sea and to report any suspicious activities to the authorities.
Complaints, information or emergencies at sea can be reported directly to the MMEA Tanjung Manis Operations Centre at 011-35728765.
