State tourism, culture, environment and climate change committee chairman Razali Idris said the strongest possible action must be taken against the ship responsible for the spill, which stretches for 3km along the beach.

“If necessary, we will seize the ship,” Bernama reported him as saying after inspecting the oil spill today. He said it is one of 20 ships currently docked at the Kemaman supply base.

Razali said the department’s team is analysing samples of the oil, believed to have spilled during maintenance work on the ship.

He said the Kemaman Municipal Council has been cleaning the beach since yesterday, with work to continue periodically until the residue is completely removed.

Terengganu environment department director Hamzah Mohamad previously said his department received a report about the pollution at the beach on Monday.

He said inspections of the site found hundreds of dead fish, squid and crabs.