KUALA LUMPUR (Bloomberg) - The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency detained two foreign-registered vessels on Saturday on suspicion of illegal fuel transfers, state news agency Bernama reported on Sunday (Oct 25), citing a maritime official.

A Singapore-registered ship was transferring about 45.5 metric tonnes of marine gas oil to a China-registered vessel, the report quoted Tanjung Sedili maritime enforcement chief Amran Daud as saying.

"The MT Chelsea II, registered in Singapore, was transferring about 45.543 metric tonnes of Marine Gas Oil (MGO) to the Shidao, China-registered MV Lu Rong Yuan Yu 978," Amran was quoted by Bernama as saying in a statement released on Sunday.

He said eight crew comprising Indonesian, Myanmar and Singapore nationals were on board the MT Chelsea II, while the MV Lu Rong Yuan Yu 978 was carrying 17 crew comprising Chinese nationals.

Investigations showed the vessels didn't have documents or permits required for ship-to-ship operations and failed to report their presence in Malaysian waters, Bernama said.