Shipmaster: I believe that my three missing crewmen are still alive

Reviewing the incident: Saiful Lizan showing a picture of the engulfed vessel during a press conference at the Johor maritime headquarters in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star

JOHOR BARU: Shipmaster Lepyoshkin Oleksandr thought he was at war when the Gabon-registered crude oil tanker ship under his command exploded after it caught fire some 60km northeast of Tanjung Sedili.

The 38-year-old Ukrainian said his crude oil carrier named MT Pablo was on its way from China to Singapore, when the incident took place at around 3pm on Monday.