LABUAN - The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Labuan maritime zone has detained a tugboat at 0.4 nautical miles south of Pulau Papan here, early Thursday (April 12).
Its deputy director, Commander Mohd Hafiz Abd Mutalib, said the MMEA personnel on Op Sejahtera, Op Khas Kuda Laut and Op Tiris were carrying out a routine inspection on the tugboat when they found that it did not report the change of skipper in the Certificate of Malaysian Registry (CMR) book.
During the inspection, the tugboat was manned by a 52-year-old skipper and a 47-year-old chief officer, both are Indonesian citizens.
According to Mohd Hafiz, the boat was seized, and the two Indonesians were taken to the Labuan maritime zone jetty for further investigation.
The case is being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (MSO) 1952 for suspected failure to report the change of captain in the CMR.
Mohd Hafiz said MMEA would not compromise with any element of criminal activities and misconduct at sea, and members of the public with any information on suspicious activities can contact the Labuan Maritime Zone Operations Centre at 087-453777 or MERS 999. - BERNAMA