Giant sand dredger plying Johor-S’pore sand-smuggling route

PETALING JAYA (June 28): A giant sand dredger dubbed the “world’s largest floating vacuum cleaner” has been spotted plying a shipping route between Johor and southern Singapore popular among sand smugglers, reported the Malay Mail.

Dutch vessel Queen of the Netherlands is believed to be engaged in sand smuggling activities after it was spotted sailing the suspicious route over the past month.

It was recently seen sailing the sea off Teluk Ramunia in Kota Tinggi and a check with the marine traffic website reveals that the ship has been in Singapore waters since June 18.

According to the publication, satellite tracking of the 230.7m-long vessel which has a gross tonnage of 33,423 tonnes reveals its “peculiar” movements.

“The movement of the Queen of the Netherlands showed that it exited Malaysian waters on or before June 18 and was travelling between the Changi southern tip and also parts of Jurong Island in Singapore.

“The vessel seems to be making several back-and-forth stops in between its journey last week as Singapore’s southern area has several small islands south of Sentosa Island and also Jurong Island,” said the source.

The southern part of Singapore’s waters are undergoing land reclamation works to combine smaller islands into a bigger one for commercial purposes.

“If indeed the vessel was carrying sand for Malaysian domestic usage, its passage will bypass the islands and proceed to Johor’s west coast near Iskandar Puteri, Kukup or Pontian instead,” the source told the Malay Mail.

However, its presence in Malaysia has not aroused concern among the authorities due to ongoing land reclamation projects at Teluk Ramunia for Benalec Holdings Bhd’s 1,672-acre Pengerang Maritime Industrial Park, while the Kota Tinggi area is also home to several sand quarries.

Malaysia has made the export of sand illegal since 1997.