The yacht that ran aground off Pantai Kampung Seh near Sedili Kecil, Kota Tinggi.
JOHOR BARU: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has rescued an American skipper and his Thai national crewman after their yacht was stranded some 0.6 nautical miles from Pantai Kampung Seh near Sedili Kecil in Kota Tinggi.
Johor MMEA director First Admiral maritime Aminuddin Abdul Rashid said the agency launched a search and rescue operation after receiving information about the incident at around 4am on Tuesday (Jan 29).
"We mobilised our Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) and sent a rescue team to the location upon receiving a distress call through the MERS999 hotline number.
"The yacht was heading to Narathiwat in Thailand from Marina Sebana Cove near Penggerang," he said in a statement here on Tuesday.
Aminuddin said the MMEA rescue team, who arrived at the scene at around 6am, found the yacht stranded near the beach.
The victims have been identified as US citizen Robert David, 61, and his crewman Nongpet, 40, he added.
They were found safe with no injuries.
According to the victims, the yacht was hit by strong currents due to the bad weather and became stranded on the beach, said Aminuddin.
He also advised the maritime community to always be vigilant and keep updated through weather reports to avoid any unnecessary accidents in the future.
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