Over 100 merchant ships detained for illegally anchoring in Johor waters: MMEA

JOHOR BARU – A total of 101 merchant ships have been detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) from early January until today for illegally anchoring in eastern Johor waters, with Singapore chalking up the highest number of such offences.

Johor MMEA director Nurul Hizam Zakaria said the republic’s registered vessels recorded 30 ships, followed by Indonesia with 12, Malaysia with nine, Greece with eight, and Hong Kong with four.

He said a total of 17 countries were involved in committing the offences, and out of the 101 merchant ships, 83 of them were detained through Op Jangkar Haram which began on March 24.

According to him, one of the reasons most often given for anchoring illegally is not knowing the borders of the country’s territorial waters.

“It is impossible for them to say that they do not know because when an international ship goes to any country in the world, the first thing that needs to be understood is the law enforced in the country of their destination.

“We do not consider that reason at all. Our enforcement does not discriminate and as long as they are detected committing offences or conducting illegal activities, we will implement enforcement strictly regardless of where the ship comes from,” he told reporters at a press conference here today.

Nurul Hizam said the revenue obtained during the operation period was RM1.76 million, given to the government through the payment of guarantee bonds.

He said enforcement must be done to preserve the sovereignty of the country, which if taken lightly will make such violations of the law a long-lasting “disease”.

On Covid-19 infections among MMEA personnel in Johor, Nurul Hizam said a total of 120 people were confirmed positive, with two deaths recorded since March last year.

“During that period, almost 300 personnel were quarantined. There were also personnel who were infected during the course of their enforcement work,” he said, adding that the two deaths were reported on August 16 and September 17 this year. – Bernama, September 26, 2021