MALAYSIA: Malaysia is cracking down on what it calls shadow fleets, which are illegal ship-to-ship (STS) oil transfer syndicates using the Johor waters.
The syndicates are now moving their operations away from Johor waters to the north, off the Strait of Malacca, to evade the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
The authorities say they are locked in a cat-and-mouse game on the seas, with the MMEA recording 39 cases of illegal STS transfers. Interceptions involve foreign-flagged and locally registered vessels.
In 2021, two cases were recorded, which increased to 11 in 2022. Ten were recorded in 2023, nine in 2024, and four and three in 2025 and 2026, respectively.
“From a geographical perspective, the southern waters of Peninsular Malaysia, particularly eastern Johor, are the primary hotspot for illegal STS activities.
“However, activities in Malaysian waters cannot be assessed solely based on current statistical figures but must instead be interpreted within the context of a dynamic and evolving maritime threat environment,” says MMEA director-general Admiral Datuk Mohd Rosli Abdullah in a report published by the local daily NST.
He said among the tactics employed by these syndicates are the use of ‘shadow fleet’ vessels, where ships operate under obscure ownership structures and switch off or manipulate their Automatic Identification System (AIS) to avoid tracking.
“They also conduct operations at night or during low-visibility conditions, use false identities, change vessel names and rely on fake documentation.”
According to the United States Energy Information Administration, the Strait of Malacca is the world’s most critical energy chokepoint, which handles around 23.2 million barrels per day as of early 2025 or around 29% of global seaborne oil trade.
Rosli also mentioned that interception operations carry safety risks, such as armed threats, collisions at sea, and marine pollution hazards, all of which are in need of careful operational planning and strict adherence to MMEA procedures.
