MMEA director-general Mohd Zubil Mat Som said he will order a special team to board the ships that refused to leave and detain those in charge from tomorrow.

He said this was part of a 10-day operation by MMEA to stop ships from illegally anchoring in East Johor waters.

“There are still 41 ships that have refused to move despite being ordered to do so and the MMEA will give them a four-hour notice for them to leave. If they continue to defy our orders, we will send the special teams in,” he said at a press conference today.

Zubil said a total of 11 enforcement assets were deployed, including five maritime ships and four patrol boats.

“Normally, the offence of anchoring a ship without permission under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance is a compoundable offence, but for this particular case, I want all those detained to be brought to court.

“Most of the excuses given were them not knowing that this was an offence and the limits of the territorial waters in Johor. That is illogical and absurd,” he said.

The Johor MMEA has detained 24 vessels for anchoring without permission since last January, with five ships fined RM50,000 each.