Johor Bahru High Court dismisses foreign shipping firm’s lawsuit

The Johor Bahru High Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Blue Ocean Shipping Limited, a Cook Islands-based shipping company, against the Malaysian government and police. The suit concerned the 2021 detention of the MV Chita 2’s crew and the seizure of its cargo near Pulau Kukup, Pontian. Judge Datuk Seri Shamsulbahri Ibrahim ruled that the company lacked legal standing to claim wrongful detention on behalf of the crew, stating that the crew members themselves should have filed such a claim. Furthermore, the court found no documentary evidence to support the company’s claim of US$1.4 million (approximately RM6.6 million) in damages.

Blue Ocean Shipping alleged that the vessel, traveling from Batam, Indonesia to Yangon, Myanmar, was unlawfully detained in international waters while carrying cigarettes. The defendants countered that the detention was justified based on intelligence suggesting the vessel was transporting contraband cigarettes intended for distribution in Malaysia. The crew were initially released but re-arrested under the Immigration Act, subsequently charged and convicted under the Customs Act, before being acquitted by the High Court in October 2023.

The lawsuit named several high-ranking officials, including former Johor police chief Tan Sri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay and former Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin, alongside the Malaysian government. The court’s decision effectively upholds the legality of the detention and seizure, rejecting the shipping firm’s claims of wrongful action.

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