TAWAU: The Tawau Maritime Zone Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained three foreign nationals aboard a local tugboat in the waters of Tawau on Sunday for allegedly failing to comply with valid licensing requirements.
Commander Norihan Ngah, Deputy Director of Operations for the Tawau Maritime Zone, said the tugboat was found to be in violation of its license conditions when the master and crew were not listed on the license and failed to notify authorities of a change in the captain.
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The arrest was made during a routine maritime patrol under Ops Pluto Timur, Ops Sejahtera, and Ops Tiris, after the MMEA’s patrol boat successfully located and boarded the vessel around 8:30pm.
“An initial inspection of the detained tugboat, located 0.5 nautical miles south of Kampung Muhibbah, revealed that the master of the vessel, a 55-year-old Indonesian man, was accompanied by two crew members, also Indonesians, aged 53 and 54,” Norihan stated in a press release on Monday.
Further inspection of the vessel’s documentation revealed that neither the master nor the crew members were listed on the license, lacked competency certificates, and failed to report the change in captain.
The tugboat’s license was seized, along with the master and crew, and they were taken to the Tawau Maritime Zone Jetty for further investigation by MMEA officials under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 (MSO 1952) for violating the terms of their license.
Norihan emphasized that MMEA will not tolerate any maritime community failing to comply with the law, even in cases that may seem minor.
He also advised boat owners and operators to remain vigilant and adhere to licensing requirements to avoid enforcement action.
“MMEA will continue to strengthen enforcement and optimize operations to combat any illegal activities in Malaysian Maritime Zones, particularly in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE),” he added.
The public is urged to report any criminal activity in Tawau’s waters to the Tawau Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 089-752116 or the emergency hotline at 999.
