Search continues for crew members of sunken oil tanker

Officers from the Marine Department looking at the possible locations in the search for six missing Indonesian crew members of MT Putri Sea on Friday.

KOTA TINGGI: The search and rescue operations are ongoing for six missing Indonesian crew members of an oil tanker which sank after an explosion on board.  

The MT Putri Sea is believed to have sunk off Tanjung Pengelih here on Thursday.  

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Southern Region operations deputy director Maritime Capt Sanifah Yusof said Friday that some 50 officers from the agency, the navy and marine police on seven boats are involved in the search.  

The vessel, carrying crude oil, had reportedly lost contact with its agent in Singapore at about 4.6 nautical miles south-west of Tanjung Pengelih at around 5am on Thursday.  

The Singapore Police Coast Guard alerted MMEA on the incident.  

Capt Sanifah said the operations on Friday covered some 35 nautical miles from the waters off Tanjung Setapa to Teluk Ramunia.  

“The operations include containing and cleaning-up of the oil spill, as well as setting up signages and buoys at the location where the MT Putri Sea is said to have sunk.  

“The cause of the incident is still under investigation.  

"The Marine Department will be issuing a notice to trace the owner of the vessel,” he added.  

The 46.3m-long MT Putri Sea, which carried the call sign 3CZU, was registered in Equatorial Guinea.  

The missing crew members were identified as Akhmad Faharuddin, 35, Muhamad Heri Hernanda, 28, Raden Abdur Rahem, 31, Rendy Alamanda, 28, Sulkifli, 39, and Yohanis Sumari, 35.