KUCHING: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here detained eight crew members and a Class C2 local fishing boat for employing foreign workers without permission last Friday (Nov 22).
MMEA Sarawak director First Admiral Kamal Ariffin Jusoh said the detention was made at 11.24pm during ‘Ops Permai’ and ‘Ops Tiris’ patrols.
The vessel, operated by a Thai skipper, five Cambodians and two Indonesians, was spotted at about 1.21 nautical miles east of Tanjung Muara Tebas.
“Further inspection of documents revealed that the skipper failed to submit an application for permission to use foreign crew from the Director of the Malaysian Fisheries Department.
“As a result, the vessel along with its crew, aged between 23 and 64, were later escorted to the Tun Abang Salahuddin Maritime Complex (KOMTAS) Jetty for further actions,” he said.
The case is being investigated under Section 8(b) of the Fisheries Act 1985.
Kamal added that the agency will continue to patrol and constantly monitor any violations of maritime law, especially in national waters.
Members of the public are urged to report any complaints, information, or emergencies at sea directly to the MMEA Sarawak Operations Centre at 082-432544.
