KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency’s (MMEA) failure to provide enough jetties for its vessels resulted in losses worth RM10.36 million, after five vessels were either destroyed or damaged in a fire that broke out on a rented jetty. Only seven of the 42 jetties that the MMEA’s 230 vessels used belonged to it, while the remaining 35 were too small and not secured, according to the Auditor-General’s Report 2014 Series 2.

“The safety of the ships/boats is not guaranteed, with checks by the audit discovering that on July 31, 2013, a fire broke out at a rented jetty which involved five MMEA ships/boats: KM Mukah, KM Rentap, Penyelamat 6, Penggalang 19 and Pengawal 15.

“According to the report of the incident, it was believed to be caused by a fire that broke out on a fishing boat docked at the same jetty,” read the report.

It said two of the vessels, KM Mukah and Penyelamat 6, suffered severe damage, and investigators recommended that they be disposed of. The report said the MMEA spent RM2.58 million on MK Mukah in 2012, and RM7.15 million to build  Penyelamat 6, before they were destroyed in the fire. The MMEA also spent RM64,000 to repair KM Rentap, it said. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 16, 2015.