Malaysia has prohibited bunkering within a newly designated Marine Sensitive Area near the eastern approaches to the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, under the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone Regulations 2026. The area was announced through Marine Sensitive Area Notice 01/2026 on September 10 and took effect September 11, aiming to protect marine life and control pollution from marine structures.
The restrictions go beyond bunkering. Vessels must observe a 12-knot speed limit, and cargo ships and oil tankers over 300 metres long and 40 metres wide are barred from entering. Anchoring is prohibited except for search and rescue, damage emergencies and pollution incidents, and cargo transfers need written government permission. Dredging, salvage, construction, cable work, seismic surveys and seabed mining all require authorization, and fishing needs Department of Fisheries approval.
The enforcement teeth are new. Malaysian authorities may run compliance checks, and breaches could bring fines reportedly up to MYR 1 million, about $245,000, plus vessel detention and prosecution, marine insurer Gard said. That is a meaningful escalation from the advisory notices the strait has lived with for years.
The geography is the point. The rules also cover waters the shipping industry calls the Outer Port Limit, which Malaysia does not recognize in waters it considers its own, including parts of the two straits. The Strait of Malacca has been a growing location for illicit ship-to-ship transfers where oil is moved between tankers at sea to hide its origin, and the notice effectively gives Malaysian authorities a legal basis to police bunkering and anchoring in waters where shadow-fleet tankers have operated.