Malaysia seizes $129.9 million in crude oil from tankers suspected of illegally transferring oil

SINGAPORE, Feb 1 (Reuters) – Two tankers suspected of illegal ship-to-ship oil transfers were detained and more than 512 million ringgit ($129.9 million) worth of crude oil seized 24 nautical miles west of Muka Head, Penang last week, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said on Saturday. 

The agency did not specify the origin of the oil being transferred.

The waters off Malaysia are known as a regular site for illegal ship-to-ship transfers, where oil is shifted between tankers at sea to obscure its origin. Malaysian authorities said in July last year they would more tightly enforce rules around the practice.

The seized tankers, worth 718 million ringgit, were carrying 53 Chinese, Burmese, Iranian, Pakistani and Indian crew members. The two captains of the ships were arrested and handed over to Penang state maritime investigation officials, the agency said. 

Maritime Captain Muhammad Suffi Mohd Ramli said the tankers at anchor were inspected after a patrol boat received a complaint at about 1 a.m. local time on Thursday. The ships were found in a coupled position and suspected of carrying out transfer activities. 

The captain added that the tankers are being investigated for anchoring without permission, which carries a penalty of 100,000 ringgit, and carrying out illegal ship-to-ship transfer activities, which carries a penalty of 200,000 ringgit per vessel. 

($1 = 3.94 ringgit)

(Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong; editing by Diane Craft)