Tankers Sail Off After Malaysia Finds Them

The Maritime Enforcement Agency of Malaysia proudly celebrated its crackdown last week on an illegal ship-to-ship oil transfer but then quietly over the weekend released the two vessels without explanation. One of the vessels appears to have been operating in the shadows for nearly a decade while the other is Chinese-owned, and they were caught red-handed, or as the Malaysians described it, “cojoined.”

The waters off Malaysia are notorious for tankers illegally anchoring and conducting illicit STS transfers. Malaysia has conducted enforcement and support, for example, in neighboring Indonesia, when tankers attempted to evade capture. Many of the STS actions proceed, however, unimpeded.

Maritime Malaysia reported that it received a complaint at around 0100 last Thursday, January 29, and sent a patrol boat to investigate. That’s where it found the two tankers with the transfer pipes strung and apparently in the midst of the transfer.

They said the two captains had been detained and handed over for further investigation and action. In total, 53 crewmembers were aboard the ships with nationalities from China, Myanmar, Iran, Pakistan, and India. Further, they said the oil was being confiscated with a value of approximately $130 million, as well as the vessels valued at over $230 million. The pictures posted showed the oil being inspected.

They did not comment on the origins of the oil nor identify the ships. However, they said they could be fined as much as $25,000.

Crew aboard one of the tankers (Maritime Malaysia)

Observers (Charlie B @supbrow and Russian Forces Spotter) quickly identified the two vessels and filled in the details. One ship, named Rcelebra (the name was visible in one of the photos), is Chinese-owned and registered in Cameroon. It is 308,829 dwt. The other, however, was only identified in the reports and emerged as a notorious, shadowy vessel that has its last inspection listed as 2018. The owners are listed as unknown, and the flag is falsely listed as Guyana. It is currently trading as Nora. The reports speculate that it was only able to transfer about 78 percent of the crude before the STS was discovered.

After highlighting the seizure and investigations, the ships appear to have quietly slipped away. The Nora is empty and cleared the Malacca Straits heading into the Indian Ocean. Its AIS says “for orders.”