LANGKAWI: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has detained a sailboat for violating various regulations including overloading near Pulau Singa Besar on Friday.
The team intercepted the boat, which was offering an unlicensed sunset cruise tour, and nabbed four crew members including the captain at 6.15pm, about 0.3 nautical miles off Pulau Singa Besar here.
There were 22 passenggers on board.
MMEA Langkawi District 1 Operation deputy director Maritime Commander Nurulazme Zakariah said his team was conducting a routine patrol in the area when they spotted the boat.
He said apart from operating a sunset cruise tour without a licence, the boat also was found to have violated several other rules under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952.
"The violations include not having a list of the crew and passengers. The boat was also found to be carrying more than the allowed 12-passenger limit," he said in a statement.
Nurulazme added that initial investigation showed the passengers were charged RM280 each for the trip.
He said MMEA has been conducting a two-week operation to curb illegal boat tour at the island.
He said the operation was carried out to ensure operators of tour boats complied with stipulated regulations for the safety of tourists.
He said allowing such activity to go on would only tarnish the country's image and tourism industry.