Two ships graze each other in Westport incident

PORT KLANG: Operations at Westport ran into a hiccup at 2.37pm Saturday when a berthing vessel grazed a docked vessel.

The accident damaged a leg of one of the quay cranes and caused three shipping containers to fall off the berthing vessel, MV Northern Democrat.

Operations on the docked vessel, MV MOL Empire, have since resumed and have been certified safe.

A Westport Malaysia said in a statement that the cargo vessel has since been safely moved to the pilot station.

It added that the area where the incident happened had been cordoned off pending further investigations.

“The three boxes are currently being lifted from the water. We are still studying the estimated cost of the damage. No casualties have been reported,” it said.

The statement added that MV MOL Empire should sail off safely once its operations were completed.

“As for MV Northern Democrat, it will remain at the pilot station before it berths at the port later,” it said.

The statement said that operations had resumed without any delay, adding that the main gate where ships enter Northport and Westport remained open.