PUTRAJAYA (May 9): Transport Minister Anthony Loke on Thursday said the ship allegedly owned by an Israeli company while using a port in this country has actually changed ownership. It now belongs to another company based in Hong Kong.

He insisted that his ministry had inspected and investigated the matter and found that the vessel was previously registered under ZIM Rotterdam.

"But it has changed hands and the ship is now called MV Rotterdam and ownership of the ship is not ZIM Rotterdam but under the GoldStar Line company.

"Our policy is that we strictly stipulate that ZIM Rotterdam ships are not allowed to dock in Malaysia, but when the ship has changed hands and belongs to another company, we cannot stop it (using a domestic port) because we are a trading country," he told the media after a Madani Goodwill and Ministry of Transport Monthly Gathering here Thursday.

Earlier, a report by a local portal claimed that a cargo ship belonging to an Israeli company was spotted departing Malaysia last week, less than five months after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that all ships belonging to the Zionist regime were prohibited from using ports in this country as a sign of solidarity with the Palestinian people.

On December 20, the Malaysian government decided not to accept ships flying the Israeli flag to be anchored in the country with immediate effect.

At the same time, Anwar was reported saying that the government had also banned any ship on its way to Israel from loading cargo at Malaysian ports.