BINTULU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Bintulu Maritime Zone reminds the public, especially the maritime community, to be attentive to weather forecasts before taking part in sea activities during this period.
Bintulu Maritime deputy director (Operations), Maritime Commander Effendy Mohamed Fadil said the community, especially small fishing boat should always pay attention to the current sea and weather conditions.
He explained that it is to ensure the safety of lives and properties and to avoid any occurrence of unwanted incidents at sea due to unpredictable weather, especially during the transition phase of the Southwest Monsoon winds covering the east coast of West Malaysia and the west coast of Sabah and Sarawak from September to November.
In a statement in conjunction with the Preventive SAR Campaign around the Bintulu waters, today, Effendy hoped that the maritime community would also ensure that safety measures such as wearing safety jackets and carrying Personal Located Beacon (PLB) devices are taken to facilitate MMEA in identifying their locations in the event of an emergency.
At the programme, MMEA Bintulu Zone also donated safety jackets and distributed emergency number stickers as well as face masks to the maritime community.
The programme is held every month which includes holding dialogue sessions and safety briefings.
This programme aims to provide awareness to fishermen and the shipping industry as well as to remind the local community to always be aware of the importance of safety at sea, especially the wearing of safety jackets.
“Random routine inspections of vessels are also carried out in compliance with the new norms in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the authorities to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he explained.
