BUTTERWORTH: The authorities are still probing an Iranian tugboat with a crew of three for entering and anchoring at the North Butterworth Container Terminal without permission on Dec 11.
The Penang Port Commission (PPC) said that authorities such as the police, Penang Immigration Department and the Northern Malaysia Marine Department had converged on the tugboat to investigate the matter.
“After being tipped off, PPC instructed the Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) to implement security controls on the Tanzanian-registered tugboat and to contact the authorities to conduct further investigations.
“Based on information received by PPSB, the tugboat under the name MV Fire Man Zanzibar docked at the N1 Pier to seek emergency medical aid for two crewmen,” it said in a statement today.
The investigation also found that the tugboat, which had not appointed any local agent, was believed to have started its journey from Japan to proceed to the United Arab Emirates.
The tugboat has thus failed to report their entry in the Penang Port Limit area to the Northern Malaysia Marine Department and PPC.
Nevertheless, the statement said, the port health authority and marine police visited the tugboat and took the sick crewmen to the Seberang Jaya Hospital for treatment.
One crewman was allowed to leave on the same day while another was detained in the ward for further treatment until Dec 15.
As the “Not To Land” order was issued to the crew by the Immigration Department, they were placed on the tugboat with security supervision and transferred to Perai Pier later.
It was reported yesterday that an Iranian tugboat with a crew of three was confirmed to have entered the state’s waters after two crewmen fell sick.
The problems of the tugboat started when it was on its way from the Philippines to Dubai after running out of fuel, before it was towed by another vessel that broke down, and anchored in Johor waters on Dec 11.
Local authorities, which were aware of the tugboat’s presence in the country’s waters, had been monitoring it and trying to provide it with assistance.