JOHOR BARU: The Southern Region Marine Department detained an oil tanker on suspicion of committing illegal ship-to-ship (STS) fuel transfer at the Tanjung Pelepas Port near Gelang Patah.
A source said the vessel, which was registered under the name Abbas, was detained on Oct 3 at about 11.30am while carrying out the activity at the port.
He said the ship, which was registered at the Klang port, was transferring 120 metric tonnes of marine gasoil (MGO) to Hong Kong-registered SafMarine Chilka.
He said the ship was detained under Section 491B (1)(k) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 for failing to obtain permit for the activity from the Marine Department director.
It learnt that the ship was previously owned and managed by Singaporean packing firm Sirius Marine that had sold the vessel to another company.
Southern Region Marine Department director Dickson Dollah when contacted confirmed that the ship was owned by a Singapore-based company but hoisted a Malaysian flag.
“The ship was recently detained, but we believed that (its crew) had committed the offence for three to four times. They had been duping enforcement agencies by using fake documents,” he said.
He said while the enforcement on shipping activities at sea fell under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), the ship in question was detained by the department by chance while it docked at the port.
“In the case of Abbas, it (illegal STS fuel transfer) happened right in front of us and we moved in to have the vessel inspected.
“The name of the ship did not appear in our record for sale of MGO. This led to discovery of fake documents furnished by the crew,” he said, adding that the ship’s tanker was confiscated by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.
He advised ship operators to only buy fuel from firms registered with the department or relevant government agencies, including the ministry and Customs Department to avoid legal action and huge losses as the ships might be detained for a long period.
He said the state’s biggest challenge was to monitor some 80,000 ships plying the Johor side of Straits of Malacca every year.