Two foreign tugboats were detained by Malaysian authorities on 6 January for allegedly anchoring without permission in the waters off Johor.

The two tugboats, accompanied by a barge, were intercepted at 23:00 local time, about 0.4 nautical miles northwest of Pulau Besar, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said in a social media post last week.

Initial investigations revealed that the vessels had failed to report their arrival and were anchored without authorisation from the Malaysian authorities.

All 17 crew members, aged between 34 and 51, are Indonesian nationals. They have been taken into custody for further questioning and legal action.

The case is currently being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952.