PETALNG JAYA: A cargo ship adrift in the East Coast poses a risk of an oil spill, says Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
The Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister said the vessel carrying 18 tonnes of diesel had drifted from the Kemaman port in Terengganu after its mooring rope snapped in bad weather.
The Sierra Leone-registered ship was then found stranded 15m away from the Chendor beach in Kuantan on Jan 30 with no cargo except for the fuel, and the three crew onboard jumped into the sea to save themselves
The Environment Department investigative teams located the ship on the same day and conducted assessments on land and in the air using drones.
"The East Region Maritime Office was contacted to implement control measures against oil leaks or spills.
"(As of today,) continuous monitoring has shown no pollution resulting from the incident,” Nik Nazmi said in a press statement on Saturday (Feb 3).
He said requests had been made to tow the ship back to the Kemaman port and a boom would be installed as a control measure in case of an oil spill.
