During a 10-day operation called “Jangkar Haram”, Malaysia clamped on illegal anchoring in its waters. The ships involved have either been warned and ordered to leave or detained and fined. BIMCO recommends Masters to take extra precaution and obtain prior permission from relevant authorities before anchoring.
When anchoring in waters off Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia, it is recommended that ships take extra precaution to check their exact location, contact the relevant authority of these countries and obtain permission before carrying out their intended act. Malaysia has communicated this information in
Malaysian shipping notice 05/2014.
Anchoring in non-designated anchorage areas or laying up without a prior permit is illegal in Malaysian waters, and the country has incorporated these rules into its
Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 . Section 491B of the ordinance requires ships to notify the director of marine or port office regarding its planned actions within the territorial waters. Ships may be required to pay a fee for conducting such activities. It should be noted that the ordinance has recently been amended to include “anchoring in non-anchorage areas”.
Recently, Malaysia conducted an operation called “Jangkar Haram” which translates to “Illegal anchors”. It was a 10-day operation conducted by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) from 24 March 2021. The aim was to crack down on those vessels that were in breach of Section 491(B) of Malaysian Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 and either direct them to leave Malaysian waters or detain and penalise them. During this operation, the MMEA reportedly found 105 vessels anchored illegally within its waters. Of those, 71 were ordered to move out, while 18 were detained.
See more info here.
While it can be said that this operation is partly to clamp down on illegal immigrants, it highlights that some merchant ships are not in compliance with Malaysian law.
This operation mainly happened in east Johor waters and at times may have exceeded the 12-mile territorial limit. However, it should be noted that the maritime boundaries between Malaysia and Singapore have been debated for quite some time and even now confusion exists at certain areas of the boundaries.
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