The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency has detained a Panama-registered tanker found anchoring without permission four nautical miles west of Tanjung Piai, reported the Kuala Lumpur Star.
Johor Maritime acting director Kama Azri Kamil said the vessel was intercepted at 5.30am as part of Ops Jaksa, Ops Todak and Ops Tiris 3.0 patrols, following a tip-off from the state Maritime Operations Centre.
The Perkasa 42 patrol vessel was deployed to the scene, where officers found 23 crew members aged between 23 and 51. The crew included 19 Indian nationals, two Tanzanians, one Myanmar national and one Egyptian.
While all crew members held valid identification, the captain failed to provide authorisation from the Malaysian Marine Department to anchor in national waters, Kama Azri said.
The chief officer and chief engineer were detained along with several documents related to the vessel. The case has been handed to an investigating officer for further action.
The tanker is suspected of violating Section 491B(1)(l) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952, which governs unauthorised anchoring in Malaysian waters.
Kama Azri said enforcement efforts in Johor waters would be intensified and warned that authorities would not tolerate any breach that could endanger national maritime safety.
