Penang: Malaysia seized two oil tankers suspected of illegally transferring crude oil worth more than 512 million ringgit (over 4 billion baht) from one ship to another while they were aboard off the coast of Penang a few days ago. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) announced on Saturday that it seized two oil tankers worth a total of 718 million ringgit (approximately 5.7 billion baht) that were anchored side-by-side north of Penang port on January 29. The seizure followed a tip-off from a patrol boat that suspected illegal oil transfer between ships.

According to Thai News Agency, authorities found 53 crew members on board, including Chinese, Burmese, Iranian, Indian, and Pakistani nationals. The captains of both ships were arrested for questioning on charges of unauthorized anchoring, punishable by a 100,000 ringgit fine, and illegal oil transfer, punishable by a 200,000 ringgit fine per ship. The origin of the transferred oil was not disclosed.

Waters off the coast of Malaysia are often used as a point for smuggling oil from ship to ship in order to conceal the origin of sanctioned oil. Malaysian authorities promised last July to intensify measures against such illegal activities.