Malaysia's mysterious ship city causes concern

Channel NewsAsia 12 Nov 09;

KUALA LUMPUR: Hundreds of ships mysteriously left idle off the Malaysian coast during the economic downturn are posing environmental and safety hazards, port authorities and fishermen say.

The ships are lying off the southeastern tip of southern Johor state which faces Singapore, positioned outside port limits to avoid charges and official scrutiny.

Some authorities said they believed the ships were waiting out the export slump that has deprived them of cargo, while others said they were being used to conduct illegal oil transfers.

"These vessels are not supposed to anchor there. This activity is considered illegal," Johor Port Authority assistant general manager Damon Nori Masood told AFP.

"All of these ships are off port limits, and some are just one metre away from the boundary line, making us unable to take action," he said, adding that the vessels are all believed to be foreign owned or flagged.

Damon Nori said the ships are anchored in a narrow strait known as the "traffic separation scheme" (TSS) – designed as a free passage area to allow authorities to control the movement of vessels in and out of the port.

The huge flotilla is illuminated at night, presenting the illusion of a floating city off the coast. Malaysian newspaper reports have said there are several hundred vessels now gathered there.

Fishermen from coastal villages have complained about seeping pollution which is threatening their livelihood, and Damon Nori said the idle ships pose a safety hazard for vessels attempting to enter the port.

"These ships are blocking the way of the vessels coming to our anchorage, because they need a bigger space when they turn into the anchorage but the TSS is just full of vessels, big or small," he said.

"This anchoring is very much disturbing the passage. The enforcement agency should clear up the area, as there are also concerns over oil spills causing environment issues," he added.

Azlan Mohamad, a fisherman in the area for the past two decades, said that some 300 to 400 ships were parked in the area, causing harm to the industry with oil spills and illegal cleaning of their tanks.

"The ships sit in our fishing area and make our fishing difficult. The ships also dump sludge at night to avoid detection," he told AFP.

"When we ask the ship not to throw anchor, they ignore us and often tell us to fish elsewhere. They are very arrogant," the 43-year-old told AFP.

"The anchored vessels have affected the income of some 3,000 fishermen. Our daily catch has fallen and the oil spills have made our lives more difficult as they damage our nets."

Port authorities declined to identify which agency they believe is responsible for dispersing the ships, and various maritime authorities contacted by AFP passed the buck or said they were unaware of the problem.

The New Straits Times this week quoted Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officials as saying that eight tankers had been seized in recent days for offences including illegal tank cleaning.

"Some of the dilapidated ships that were left there for quite some time may have been used to cover the illegal oil transfer activities," MMEA's southern region head Che Hassan Jusoh reportedly said.

"Oil transfers or bunkering, where one ship transfers its cargo of oil to another while at sea, can only be done once these vessels have a domestic merchant shipping license for such activities," a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency official told AFP.

The process is licensed because of the marine pollution that can occur if it is not done correctly and the transfers must take place in specially gazetted areas because of the danger of fire.

But senior marine police officials say they are mostly hamstrung by ambiguous laws and that there is "no black and white" legislation empowering them to clamp down.

However, an official from the marine department in the transport ministry disagreed.

"The law does not directly say anchoring (is illegal), but it falls under 'any other activities' in the section. Everybody in the maritime agencies knows this is illegal," said Fuad Naemoon.

Under the law, the owner, master or agent of an errant ship can be punished by up to two years in jail and a fine, according to Fuad, who heads the port and seafarer division in the southern region office that oversees Johor.

"The enforcement units should be pro-active," he said, pointing a finger at the marine police and MMEA.

"This has happened for almost two years and the number of ships there is increasing since the economic crisis. The government is suffering losses if these ships continue not to report (their presence) and are not paying dues."

He said the illegal anchoring has also caused submarine cable failures, which have resulted in disruption to telecommunication services for countries including Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

- AFP/so

Illegal oil deals in anchored fleet
The flotilla might have been used to camouflage illegal oil transfers along the coastline. -NST
By Syed Umar Ariff, New Straits Times 10 Nov 09 AsiaOne

JOHOR BARU - The recent seizure of several tankers off Pengerang, Kota Tinggi, may shed some light as to why there is a small flotilla of ships anchored there.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency southern region commander First Admiral Che Hassan Jusoh said the flotilla might have been used to camouflage illegal oil transfers along the coastline.

He said the MMEA had carried out investigations since early this year in the area, concerning the "gathering" of the ships as frontpaged by the New Straits Times recently.

"Some of the dilapidated ships that were left there for quite some time may have been used to cover the illegal oil transfer activities off Pengerang. We are also bringing them in for other offences as well," said Che Hassan yesterday.

On Saturday and Sunday, he said, eight vessels were detained by the MMEA for illegal oil transfer, illegal tank cleaning (which can only be done at docks to mitigate marine pollution), failing to announce entry in foreign waters and for not paying for a permit to anchor in local waters.

The first three ships were detained on Saturday. MT Rahmah 1 and MT Jet were found to have been involved in illegal oil transfer while MT Ktos II for failing to pay for the permit.

Che Hassan said all the ships were detained at 2.8 nautical miles south of Tanjung Setapa, Pengerang at 11.38am.

Initial investigations revealed that 303,000 litres of marine gas oil were found on Rahmah 1. Some 1,000 litres of it had been transferred to the MT Jet.

Rahmah 1 is registered in Panama and owned by an Indonesian shipping company, while Jet and Ktos II did not have any shipping documents.

"Checks revealed that there were 17 Indonesian crewmen on the three vessels. They are being detained to facilitate investigations."

The other five ships were detained on Sunday during an operation called Ops Perkasa Selatan. They were MT Suwito (registered in Jakarta, Indonesia); Her Chang (La Paz, Bolivia); MT Antago Power and MT Antago 5 (both San Lorenzo, Honduras); and, Eastern Hill, the crew of which did not possess any shipping documents.

Che Hassan said the Suwito was believed to have been conducting illegal tank cleaning activities while the others had failed to inform the authorities of their arrival in local waters.

He said the ships were located within a stone's throw of each other, 3.8 nautical miles southeast of Tanjung Setapa.