Oil tanker held over illegal ship-to-ship fuel transfer

JOHOR BARU: The Southern Region Marine Department detained an oil tanker on suspicion of committing illegal ship-to-ship (STS) fuel transfer at Tanjung Pelepas Port, near Gelang Patah.

A source said the vessel, which was registered under the name Abbas, was detained on Oct 3 at 11.30am while carrying out the activity at the port.

He said the ship, which was registered in Port Klang, was transferring 120 metric tonnes of marine gasoil (MGO) to Hong Kongregistered SafMarine Chilka.

He said the ship was detained under Section 491B (1)(k) of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 for failing to obtain a permit for the activity from the Marine Department director.

It is learnt that the ship was previously owned and managed by Singaporean packing firm Sirius Marine, which sold the vessel to another company.

Southern Region Marine Department director Dickson Dollah yesterday confirmed that the ship was owned by a Singaporebased company, but hoisted a Malaysian flag.

“The ship was recently detained, but we believed that (its crew) had committed the offence three to four times. They had been duping enforcement agencies with fake documents.”

He said although enforcement on shipping at sea fell under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the department detained the ship by chance when it docked.

“In the case of Abbas, it (illegal STS fuel transfer) happened right in front of us, and we moved in to have the vessel inspected.

“The name of the ship did not appear in our records for sale of MGO. This led to the discovery of fake documents furnished by the crew,” he said, adding that the tanker was confiscated by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

He advised ship operators to buy fuel from firms registered with the department or government agencies, including the ministry and Customs Department, to avoid legal action and losses as ships might be detained for a long period.