Marine Police get new vessel to beef up patrols in S’wak waters

KUCHING: The capacity of the Marine Police to fight the scourge of foreign fishing trawlers was boosted by the recent arrival of a PT2 patrol vessel.

State Marine Police commander ACP Salehuddin Mat Zaman said the new vessel was meant for patrols and operations on Sarawak waters.

“Bukit Aman police headquarters has sent a PT2 for Sarawak Marine Police to conduct operations to tackle illegal foreign fishing trawlers in Malaysian territorial waters.

“We have also received an air boat, which is given to the base in Sibu to conduct patrols along the Rajang River as well as Kanowit, Song and Kapit areas,” he told a news conference after launching the ‘ Moh Ngeteh Merdeka’ programme at the state Marine Police base here yesterday.

Salehuddin pointed out that the air boat, which does not have a propeller, allows his officers to travel inland and through rocky areas that are not accessible by road.

“With the current rainy season, some areas are not accessible by road. This is where the air boat comes in handy,” he said.

He said Marine Police personnel have also been conducting patrols along the Kuching Waterfront here since last month to tighten security, particularly among tourists.

According to him, the authorities are doing a three-month awareness campaign among river cruise and boat operators at the waterfront to make sure they comply with existing regulations.

“Four Marine Police personnel on two jet skis conduct patrols along the waterfront from 10am to 6pm to show our presence while also ensuring that no boats are overloaded with passengers.

“We have set August to November as an awareness period to advise all operators to comply with the Sarawak Rivers Ordinance and Merchant Shipping Ordinance,” he said.

Salehuddin added they are working closely with Sarawak Rivers Board ( SRB) towards preventing any untoward incident.

“We want to be proactive in prevention because if any accident happens, lives might be lost and it will be too late by then.

“We can even extend the operation hours, if need be.

“We hope that all river cruise and boat operators at the Kuching Waterfront will put the safety of passengers above all,” he said, while warning that the authorities would take stern action against offenders once the awareness period has lapsed.