BINTULU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here detained three barges for not having any domestic shipping license last Sunday (July 16).
MMEA Bintulu director Captain Mohd Khairol Anuar Saad said the barges were anchoring near each other to shelter from bad weather at around 6.30 pm about one nautical mile from Bintulu Port.
As soon as inspections were carried out, MMEA found that the barges did not have any domestic shipping license.
“A total of 31 crew members comprising of 27 Chinese nationals and four Indonesians, aged between 20 and 53, were operating the barges without any cargo.
“The crew members were not detained as they had complete identification documents and valid work permits from the Immigration Department,” he said.
He said the case is being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952, which carries a compound up to RM5,000, if convicted.
Mohd Khairol reminded the maritime community to comply with all rules and laws before conducting any activity at sea.
Any information and complaints regarding suspicious activities or accidents at sea, can be directly channeled to the MMEA Bintulu Operations Centre at 086-314254 or MMEA Sarawak operations centre at 082-432544.
