GEORGE TOWN – The Marine Department is investigating how an Iranian tugboat with three crew members sailed illegally into Malaysian waters recently and docked undetected at the Penang Port operational area.
The vessel’s berthing at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) without prior approval from the port authorities has raised alarm on the national security front, officials told The Vibes.
The MV Fire Man Zanzibar, a fire fighting boat had performed the unauthorised berthing at NBCT on December 11.
Enforcement agencies are investigating the incident from the vessel’s point of origin.
The agencies are also planning to raise awareness on the need to revise standard operating procedures to ensure that such an incident does not occur again, as it poses a potential national security threat.
It is learnt that the vessel was forced to berth in Penang because the crew ran out of fuel and some sailors were sick, without food and money.
Officials told The Vibes that the port authorities immediately alerted the police, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and the immigration department.
A security check was conducted on the vessel after it had berthed.
When port officers and the security forces entered it they found two of the crewmen in their late 40s sick and starving for days as there was no food found in the vessel. The crewmen were also without any money.
Initial investigations revealed that the vessel has no agent in Penang. The nearest agent is in The Philippines.
On humanitarian grounds the authorities called for an ambulance and sent the two crewmen who needed immediate medical attention to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for treatment.
The men returned to the vessel several days later, after being treated.
The Iranian embassy has been alerted on the matter and is making arrangements to appoint an agent to provide food and prepare the sailors’ travel documents.
It is learnt that the Penang Port Commission (PPC), the port regulator, has agreed with operator Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) to move the boat from NBCT to the nearby cargo wharf in Prai which is not far from NBCT.
PPC had also instructed the PPSB to conduct surveillance on the vessel. The crewmen are not allowed to leave it without permission, partially as precaution due to Covid-19.
Officials also said that in such cases vessels entering illegally come under the custody of the marine department and would be quarantined and monitored at anchorage. However, the standard operating procedure was not followed in this case, possibly on account of the abject condition of the seamen.
The major concern is that a foreign vessel was able to evade marine enforcement authorities, slipping into the Penang Channel without been detected – The Vibes, December 19, 2020
