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The owner of a Malaysian tanker that was caught illegally transferring marine fuel near Pontian, Johor, claims that it was the work of the crew and had nothing to do with the company.

Speaking to local daily The Star, Andrew Hean, a partner of vessel owner and bunker supply firm Ban Hoe Leong Marine Supplies Sdn. Bhd (BHL Marine) said that the activities had been going on without their knowledge.

A total of 19 crewmen were detained by local authorities on Thursday for illegally transferring marine fuel from the Malaysian tanker Arowana Barcelona to the Singapore-registered ship Ocean Samudera.

The crewmen were detained under Section 491(B) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1953 for allegedly transferring 50,000 litres of marine fuel worth around MYR75,000 (US$ 25,000).

According to police authorities, the vessels were spotted transferring fuel at 1.30pm on Wednesday, approximately 2.8 nautical miles off Kukup.

The crewmen, aged between 25 and 50, were later handed over to maritime authorities at Tanjung Pelepas and both vessels were taken to the Kukup Terminal.

According to Hean, the company had lost millions of Malaysian Ringgit in recent years from illegal transfers of marine fuel, which had always involved a particular Singapore-based shipping company.

Hean said the incidents had continued to take place even after the company installed CCTV cameras on board as unscrupulous crewmen tampered with the surveillance system.

“There is only so much we could do and I would like to thank the authorities for their swift action,” he said.

Hean commented that the company would be pressing charges against the crew as well as the owners of the Ocean Samudera.