MMEA Labuan detain tanker with diesel worth RM400,000

LABUAN - The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in Labuan detained a tanker carrying 190,000 litres of diesel worth RM400,000 without a permit at 45.7 nautical miles northwest of Labuan on Saturday (Aug 5).

Further inspection uncovered several violations, including the absence of a master on board, an expired domestic shipping license (DSL), no crew list, no cargo manifest, no declaration on an anti-fouling certificate, and no ship insurance document.

Other violations include an expired safety equipment document, an expired international load line document, an expired cargo ship safety certificate document, and an expired International Oil Pollution Prevention Certificate (IOPP) Form B document (Marpol Annex 1).

MEA Labuan director, Captain Nudin Jusoh said a patrol vessel was conducting Op Sejahtera, Op Naga Timur, Op Khas Kuda Laut, and Op Tiris around the waters near the Samarang Oil rigs when they detected a Malaysian-flagged tanker at around 2.10 pm yesterday.

"The vessel was manned by a seven-member crew, six of whom were Indonesian citizens and one Indian citizen, aged between 20 and 55 years, and the crew had valid identification documents,” he said today.

He said the tanker was found carrying diesel without a Petroleum Development Act (PDA) certificate/license and a receipt/invoice for the purchase of fuel.

"We suspect the tanker was carrying smuggled diesel as it did not have a license to handle and carry fuel (diesel). The case will be investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (MSO) 1952 and the Petroleum Act 1984/Petroleum Development Act 1974,” said Nudin.

He added the owner of the tanker would also be subjected to investigations under the Customs Act 1967 and under the Control of Supplies Act 1961, read together with the Control of Supplies Regulation 1974, for not possessing port clearance and a Control Supplies Act (CSA) document, respectively.

The tanker and goods were seized and escorted to the MMEA Labuan jetty for further investigation.

MMEA reminds the public to report any incidents of misconduct, emergencies, or accidents at sea to the MERS emergency line 999 or the Labuan Maritime Zone Operations Center at 087-427999. - BERNAMA