MSC ship stopped for unauthorised anchoring off Port Klang

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has detained an MSC container ship after it was found to have anchored without permission in the country’s waters.

MMEA, Malaysia’s de facto coast guard, circulated a photo of the ship, with the vessel name blacked out, only describing it as a Liberia-flagged vessel. MMEA said the ship was detained on 16 May.

However, MarineTraffic’s vessel-tracking data indicates the ship is the 2007-built, 3,534 TEU MSC Olia that serves MSC’s Seagull intra-Asia service connecting China with Southeast Asia.

The data shows MSC Olia’s status as having stopped off Port Klang, corresponding with the MMEA’s reasoning for keeping the vessel behind.

MMEA said sea surveillance radar systems around Klang detected MSC Olia’s suspicious position at 9:20 a.m. local time on 16 May. Four hours later, MMEA personnel detained the ship.

MMEA’s Selangor branch’s director, Captain Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh, said a check with the Central Region Maritime Department found that the ship had not applied for permission to anchor.

“Further investigation found that the ship’s captain failed to submit any anchoring permission documents and the ship had committed an offence under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (MSO 1952) for anchoring without permission from the Director General of the Malaysian Maritime Department,” he explained.

Captain Muhaimin added that a patrol boat was dispatched to the location, where initial checks found that the ship was operated by a 44-year-old Russian captain with 23 crew members from various countries, aged between 32 and 50.

He said that all crew members had complete identification documents. Following the offence, he said, an arrest warrant was issued against the ship, while the ship’s captain and an engineering officer were taken to the Selangor State Maritime Headquarters for further investigation.

Unauthorised anchoring could mean a fine of up to MYR 100,000 (US$23,000) for the crew or a two-year imprisonment, or both.

MSC has been contacted for input for this story, but has not responded at the time of writing.

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