TAWAU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) seized two local boats for committing various offences in two separate incidents here.
Tawau MMEA Director Shahrizan Raman said during their operations dubbed as Ops Mardof 1/2024 and Ops Sejahtera, the patrol team first detected a boat carrying out fishing activities in Merotai waters at 11am on Wednesday.
“Inspection of the boat located 1.9 nautical miles south of Merotai River found a 27-year-old skipper who admitted he has no identification documents.
“The boat also has no registration number nor a registered boat licence,” he said in a statement.
At 4.10pm the same day, another boat was found carrying out the same activities at 5.5 nautical miles southeast of Apas Parit.
Shahrizan said an inspection of the boat found an Indonesian male skipper along with four Indonesian crew members, aged between 45 and 47. who possessed valid documents.
However, he said the boat violated the condition of its licence as the owner’s name was not registered.
Both boats, along with the cargo and all crew members, were subsequently detained and brought to the Tawau Maritime Zone Jetty and handed over to Malaysian Maritime investigating officers for investigation under the Sabah Ports and Wharves Department Enactment (JPDS) 2002, the Fisheries 1965 and the Immigration Act 1956/63.
All items, including both boats and cargo, were seized until the investigation process was completed with a total seizure value exceeding RM100,000.
