MMEA detains cargo ship over suspected dumping of waste oil

LUMUT: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has detained a cargo ship suspected of dumping waste oil in Selangor waters, about 21.7 nautical miles northeast of Pulau Jarak, near here.

Perak MMEA director Capt Shahrizan Raman said an MMEA aircraft patrolling the waters had detected the cargo ship's suspicious activities and alerted MMEA Selangor.

He said following that, MMEA Perak directed the KM Gagah vessel which was conducting a patrol in the area to head to the location to intercept the ship and conduct a thorough search on board at about noon yesterday.

"The cargo ship was said to be on its way north and had entered the waters of Perak.

"The ship, registered in Haiphong, Vietnam, was en route to Europe with 22 Vietnamese crew members aged between 30 and 65, all of whom had valid travel documents," he said in a statement tonight.

Shahrizan said the vessel was suspected of having committed an offence under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 (MSO) and the Environmental Quality Act 1974 for dumping waste oil into the sea.

He said the ship and all of the crew members on board were currently detained at the South East Point (SEP) in the waters of Pulau Pangkor, for the Perak Department of Environment (DOE) to collect oil samples for further investigation.

-- BERNAMA