KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Two tankers detained off Malaysia’s Penang island for allegedly conducting illegal ship-to-ship transfers of crude oil last week have been released along with their cargo, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said on Tuesday.

Authorities had seized the vessels, suspected of transferring nearly $130 million worth of crude oil, and arrested 53 crew members on January 29 following a complaint regarding the ships’ activities, MMEA Penang director Muhammad Suffi Mohd Ramli had said in a statement over the weekend.

KNOWN LOCATION FOR SHIP-TO-SHIP TRANSFERS

The waters off Malaysia are known as a regular site for illegal ship-to-ship transfers, where oil is moved between tankers at sea to obscure their origin or evade sanctions. Malaysian authorities vowed last year to crack down on the practice.

In response to questions from Reuters, Muhammad Suffi’s office identified the vessels as the Nora and the Rcelebra, and said the tankers were managed by agents from Penang appointed by the ships’ owners.

The ships were released on a bond of 300,000 ringgit ($76,400), but remained under investigation for conducting ship-to-ship activities without permission.

“The case … is awaiting further instructions from the Deputy Public Prosecutor for court proceedings,” Muhammad Suffi’s office said.

The agency did not identify the origin of the oil or the tankers.

The unique IMO numbers of the Nora and Rcelebra, however, matched the identities of vessels that have been sanctioned by Western authorities, according to public records and LSEG ship-tracking data.

The Nora, under its previous name Longbow Lake, was added to the U.S. Treasury’s sanctions list in 2020 for its links to the National Iranian Oil Company.

Meanwhile, the Rcelebra has been under European Union sanctions since last year for the suspected transport of Russian, Iranian and Venezuelan crude oil and petroleum products.

The Nora was last seen moving towards Sri Lanka, while the Rcelebra was tracked heading towards the Eastern Outside Port Limit area near Singapore, a known hub for dark fleet tankers, LSEG data showed on Tuesday.

($1 = 3.9260 ringgit)

(Reporting by Danial Azhar in Kuala Lumpur and Florence Tan in Singapore; Writing by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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