An Indonesian captain and his eight crew members were rescued from a cargo vessel by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
The cargo vessel was en route from Indonesia to Thailand when the vessel sprang a leak off Terengganu on Wednesday.
MMEA Eastern Region director First Admiral (Maritime) Datuk Mamu Said Alee said, “The vessel, Putra Harapan Sejati, sprang a leak 12.8 nautical miles off Kuala Terengganu at about 10am while carrying 170 tonnes of coconuts from Batam to Narathiwat. Water entered the engine room of the 300-tonne boat that was 32 metres long and five metres wide, shutting off electricity supply and making it unable to continue the journey”.
He further added, “The captain issued an SOS and the MMEA rushed three boats to the vessel, which was found at 11.45am with a part of it having sunk. The MMEA personnel rescued all the crew”.
Mamu said the all-male crew aged between 20 and 55 were uninjured but were sent to the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital for observation. He also said that the MMEA reported the matter to the Indonesian embassy and notified the Marine Department of a possible oil spill at the location.
Captain Irwin Shah, 55, said the boat seemingly sprang a leak after it was lashed by strong waves. “We had been at sea for 55 hours after leaving Indonesia. Once we realised there was a leak, we made a distress call and tried to head for Pulau Kapas (off Terengganu). However, the engine died before we could reach Pulau Kapas. Fortunately, the MMEA personnel arrived on time because our vessel was already sinking”.
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Source: BERNAMA
