Malaysia has prohibited bunkering inside a newly designated Marine Sensitive Area near the eastern approaches to the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, where the shipping industry routinely refuels in waters it calls the Outer Port Limit. Under the rules, issued September 10 through Marine Sensitive Area Notice 01/2026 and in force since September 11 under Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone Regulations 2026, large cargo ships and oil tankers over 300 meters long and 40 meters wide are barred from the zone, vessels are limited to 12 knots, and anchoring is forbidden except for search-and-rescue, damage or pollution emergencies. Cargo transfers need written Malaysian government permission, and all vessels in waters Malaysia considers its own must report activities to the Malaysian Marine Department and can be boarded and inspected. Shipowners failing to show required MMD approval to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency face detention, and insurer Gard warns fines can reach one million ringgit (about $245,000).
The move matters because Malaysia does not recognize the OPL convention in these waters, so a large slice of the industry’s informal Singapore-area refueling and waiting area now sits under Malaysian rules it may not have been following.