LANGKAWI: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has seized a yacht for operating cruise services without a licence yesterday.
Kedah/Perlis MMEA director First Admiral (Maritime) Romli Mustafa said the yacht was detained while anchored at 0.2 nautical miles northeast off Pulau Tuba at about 6.50pm.
"The yacht was ferrying eight passengers and the two owners of the yacht and two crew members aged between 46 and 56 failed to furnish documents to carry out recreational activities at sea.
"The yacht is believed to have been used to take tourists on a "sunset cruise".
"The crew and owners of the yacht were then arrested and brought to the Bukit Malut Maritime jetty for further investigations," he said in a statement today.
Romli added that the case was being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 for failure to submit valid documentation.
MMEA reminded all yacht operators carrying out 'sunset cruise' activities to comply with all licensing, insurance, and safety requirements to safeguard the safety of tourists and yacht passengers.
The agency also reminded tourists to check with yacht operators and ensure they were registered with the Malaysian Marine Department to avoid untoward incident.