IPOH, March 9 (Bernama) -- The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) detained two oil vessels and its crew, off Pulau Pangkor waters near Lumut, about 100km from here, for illegally dumping oil residual.

District Maritime 3 Enforcement Chief Ang Cheng Hwa said the activities of the two ships was discovered at about 11pm, about 3 Nautical miles from Pulau Pangkor and detained by the Kilat 52 patrol boat.

One of the two ships was registered in Klang while other was registered in Medan, Indonesia.

The detention of two ships and a number of crew members, for illegally dumping oil residual, was the first case in Perak waters since 2005, he said.

He added that the case have since been handed over to the Department of Environmental for further investigation.

Such offenders can be jailed for a maximum of five years and fined RM500,000, he said.