Boat licence abuse among most common offences in Tawau waters

TAWAU: Tawau Maritime Zone conducted 4,910 inspections last year in Tawau waters and recorded 32 arrests, of which 13 were for offences in connection with a breach of the Sabah Port and Ports Department Enactment 2002 (JPDS) which largely involves misuse of licence.

According to the Director of Tawau Maritime Zone, Maritime Captain Siva Kumar a/l Vengadasalam, boat licence abuse activities is identified as one of the most common offences in Tawau waters.

He said boats licenced for fishing or carrying passengers, have been misused for transporting cargo or goods to the islands in the vicinity, and there are also those who try to smuggle out certain goods or cargo to neighbouring countries.

The results of the monitoring and inspection conducted found that the perpetrators of these offences brought cargo exceeding the limit and this can lead to accidents such as sinking or collision incidents, he said which is not only capable of causing injury or death to the perpetrator, but in worse situations it is also capable of threatening the safety of the maritime community.

In this regard, he said Malaysian Maritime acts decisively in enforcing laws to ensure Malaysian waters are always safe and under control.

He said misuse of licence is an offence under Section 8 of the Sabah Port and Ports Department Enactment 2002 which if convicted, the perpetrator can be compounded a maximum of RM500.

Earlier, four local boats were detained by the Tawau Maritime Zone for breach of valid licence conditions. The boats involved were detained by Malaysian Maritime patrol boats simultaneously at Tawau waters around 12.40 pm, on Monday.

The results of the inspection found that the boats were operated by three local owners and one Indonesian owner were registered as a passenger boat but was misused to carry out cargo transporting activities, he said.

The boats were detained while on their way to Sebatik Island but the real destination is still under investigation. The boats with all the skippers were escorted to the Tawau Maritime Zone jetty and submitted to the investigating officer for further investigation, he said.

Upon completion of the investigation, he said the cases will be referred to the Sabah Port and Wharf Department for follow-up action.

He called on the public to report criminal information committed in Tawau waters to Tawau Maritime Operations Centre at 089-752 115 or MERS 999 which operates 24 hours.