11 men arrested for illegal MGO trade in Singapore

A joint operation between PCG and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) last Wednesday led to the arrest of six crew members of a craft belonging to a marine service provider and another five crew members of a foreign-registered tugboat, at the sea off Northern Tuas on the western end of Singapore.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the crew members of the marine service provider’s craft are believed to have misappropriated the MGO and sold it to the crew members of the foreign-registered tugboat. The tugboat was seized for investigations,” the PCG said in a statement on its website.

On 1 November, the six crew members of the craft have been charged in a Singapore court with criminal breach of trust and the five crew members of the tugboat have been charged with dishonestly receiving stolen property, according to the PCG.

“The PCG and MPA take a serious view of illegal transaction of marine fuel in Singapore waters. The PCG and MPA will continue to conduct enforcement and security checks to prevent, deter and detect such illicit activities in Singapore waters,” the PCG said.