TAWAU: Two boats suspected of breaching licence conditions and carrying cargo without valid permits were detained within less than an hour by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here on Thursday.
Tawau Maritime Zone Director, Maritime Captain Ariffin Ghazali, said the arrests in waters south of Batu 3 were carried out during Op Sejahtera, Op Pluto Timur and Op Tiris.
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He said the first arrest at 2am involved a local fishing vessel detected trawling less than two nautical miles from shore, about 1.7 nautical miles south of Batu 3, and although four Indonesian crew members aged between 34 and 44 possessed valid identification documents and fishing licences, further checks found the vessel had violated licence conditions by operating within a prohibited distance.
Less than an hour later, a cargo boat was detained 2.1 nautical miles south of Batu 3 after its 27-year-old local skipper failed to produce a permit to carry 12 filled liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders and his name was not listed in the boat licence register, in breach of licensing requirements.
Ariffin said all individuals, vessels and cargo were taken to the Tawau Maritime Zone Jetty for further investigation under the Fisheries Act 1985, the Control of Supplies Act 1961 and the Sabah Ports and Harbours Department Enactment 2002, with the total seizure including boats, engines and cargo estimated at nearly RM85,000.
