I REFER to the tragic loss of 12 lives after an overloaded barter-trade boat ferrying passengers to Indonesia capsized just off Port Klang on Tuesday ("Barge overturns minutes after setting sail" -- NST, Oct 1).

My commiserations go to the families of those whose lives were lost because of the greed of the people operating this barge. To those who assisted and managed to prevent more loss of life in this tragedy, I offer my most sincere appreciation.

What I would like to know is how such a boat could have embarked on this despicable illegal operation without being detected.

Malaysia has two uniformed agencies, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the marine police, who are well equipped with appropriate floating assets and manpower to patrol the waters off our ports.

I also understand that the port perimeters of both Westports and Northport are well protected under the International Ship and Port Facilities Security (ISPS) Code -- an international obligatory requirement with which every port around the globe has to comply in order to encourage international vessels to keep calling at the port.
Does this mean that though the land side is well covered, the waters off these two ports are not?

Why was there no mechanism in place to help detect the barter-trade boat and monitor its activities?

Granted that such a vessel is not covered by the ISPS requirements owing to its size and nature of operations, I shudder to think of the consequences should the same boat be engaged in unloading weapons or other items that could pose a security threat to the nation.

Perhaps it is time our authorities considered using alternative means of detecting and monitoring these smaller vessels that do not come under the ambit of the ISPS Code operating within our port waters and commence enforcing them. I understand that the Penang Port Commission is undertaking a pilot project to test the efficacy of such a system.

To my mind, we should be able to trace, monitor and identify each and every vessel that moves in the waters off our ports to ensure foolproof security and nip in the bud illegal activities such as human trafficking and smuggling, besides the ever-sensitive issue of weapons infiltration. Singapore has been doing it for some time now; why not us?

I sincerely hope that the comment made by one of the survivors, that the "agent" who sold him the ticket had requested money to "pay off" certain enforcement officials is merely that -- an allegation, with no truth in it whatsoever.

Let us all hope that a lesson has been learnt out of this tragedy.