KOTA KINABALU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has seized a tugboat with nine foreign crew members and one skipper on board for offences under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (MSO) 1952 off Labuan.
They failed to provide the ship’s registry to the port officer and violated the terms of the Domestic Shipping Licence by failing to comply with the number of crew members allowed under the MSO 1952.
The 43-year-old Indonesian skipper and two crew members were taken to the Labuan maritime jetty for further probe, said Labuan MMEA director Maritime Captain Nudin Jusoh.
Earlier, the maritime patrol boat while conducting rounds under the Ops Sejahtera, Ops Khas Kuda Laut and Ops Tiris, encountered the vessel 2.5 nautical mile northeast of Labuan island at 2.10pm on Monday (May 15), he said in a statement.
The team conducted a routine check on the tugboat, which carried nine crew members from Myanmar and India, aged between 19 and 37, besides the skipper.
“The case is being investigated under MSO 1952 for the offences mentioned, where if found guilty, could be fined up to RM10,000.
“MMEA will not compromise with any errant parties and will take legal action against offenders at sea,” said Nudin.
