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JOHOR BAHRU: The Malaysian Maritime Control Agency (MMEA) ordered five merchant ships from various countries to leave, as they were found to have anchored without permission in Malaysian waters near Kota Tinggi.
Johor Maritime Director Nurul Hizam Zakaria said the ships, registered in Dominica, Indonesia, Palau, Panama and Liberia, were evicted during an operation yesterday.
“An MMEA patrol boat was assigned to evict them for not possessing a valid permit to anchor in Malaysian waters,” he said in a statement.
He said the waters off Tompok Utara had become a focus area for merchant ships to anchor since the Movement Control Order (MCO) was enforced in March, as most countries had taken steps to restrict movement in and out of the main ports.
As a result, he said merchant ships took the opportunity to illegally anchor in Malaysian waters.
Hizam said that this month alone, they had dislodged 23 merchant ships from Tompok Utara, while detaining 17 others in the waters off east Johor so far this year.
He reminded operators that the waters of Permatang Timur (Eastern Bank), Beting Ramunia (Ramunia Shoal) and Tompok Utara (North Patch) were within the Malaysian maritime zone and are not international waters, although they are at a distance of more than 12 miles from the nearest land.
“All shipping activities in these areas must have the permission of the Malaysian authorities,” he added.
Hizam said those with information on maritime crime in Johor’s waters can contact the state’s 24-hour MMEA operations center hotline at 07-2199404.
