The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency announced on Saturday that two tankers suspected of illegal transfers of oil between ships were detained, and a total of?more than 512,000,000 ringgit ($129.9M) worth of 'crude oil was seized last week 24 nautical miles west of Muka Head in Penang.

The agency failed to specify the origin of oil that was being transferred.

The waters around Malaysia are known for being a frequent site of illegal ship-to -ship transfers. This is where oil is transferred between tankers to hide its origin. Malaysian authorities announced in July of last year that they would enforce the?rules surrounding this practice more strictly.

The 53 crew members from China, Burma, Iran, Pakistan and India were aboard the seized tankers worth?718million ringgit. The agency reported that the two captains were arrested and turned over to Penang maritime investigation officials.

The tankers were checked after a patrol boat received a complaint about 1 am local time on Thursday. The tankers were in a coupled state and the suspicion was that they had been transferring fuel.

The captain said that the tankers were being investigated because they had been anchored without permission. This is punishable by a fine of 100,000 ringgit. They also carried out illegal ship to ship transfer activities which are punishable by a fine of 200,000 ringgit.

(source: Reuters)