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TAWAU: The Tawau Zone Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Maritime seized two local boats suspected of committing offenses under the Fisheries Act 1985 and the Control of Supply Act 1961 in two separate operations.

Tawau Maritime Zone Director, Maritime Captain Shahrizan Raman, said the arrest was made by a Malaysian Maritime patrol boat that was conducting Ops Sejahtera and Ops Tiris in the district’s waters.

He said the team managed to locate and inspect a fishing boat that was towing a net near the coast around Tinagat waters at 11.05pm.

According to him, the inspection of the fishing boat at a position of 1.4 nautical miles southeast of the Apas River found a skipper with four Indonesian men between the ages of 19 and 54, each possessing valid identity documents and work permits.

“However, further inspection found that the boat violated the legal conditions of the license by carrying out trawling activities below the distance of two nautical miles from land based on the position of the boat,” he said.

In a separate case, he said a passenger boat was also detained and checked by the same patrol boat that carried out the operation at a position 1.6 nautical miles north of Sungai Aji Kuning, early Sunday.

Shahrizan said an inspection on the boat found that it was carrying eight gallons of diesel fuel and an estimated 200 litres of petrol from the Tawau CIQ Jetty to Sebatik Island.

He added that the boat was operated by a 35-year-old local skipper who failed to show any permit related to the cargo.

He said the two boats with the cargo and all men involved were subsequently arrested and taken to the Tawau Maritime Zone Jetty and handed over to the Malaysian Maritime Investigation Officer to be investigated under the Fisheries Act 1985 and the Supply Control Act 1961.

All items including boats and cargo with a total value of more than RM185,000 were seized pending results from the investigation.

Shahrizan also asked the local maritime community to always be more aware of the terms of the license. 

He said they will not compromise with failure to comply with the valid conditions of the issued licenses.

He added that Maritime Malaysia will continue to strengthen enforcement duties and optimise operations to combat illegal activities in the Malaysian Maritime Zone, especially in the waters of Eastern Sabah (Esszone).

He called on the maritime community to channel any criminal misconduct that occurs around the waters of Tawau to the Tawau Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 089-752116 and Mers 999.