CHUKAI: The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has rescued 15 crewmembers from a cargo ship that suffered a serious leak while sailing from Lumut, Perak, to Vietnam early on Saturday (Dec 6) morning.
Kemaman Maritime Zone director Maritime Commander Abdul Halim Hamzah said the incident occurred at around 1am when the cargo ship carrying clay was about 59 nautical miles northeast of Merchang in Marang.
"The incident was reported after the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre Kuantan activated emergency procedures and instructed the vessel to move closer to shore to minimise risk.
"Following the report, Malaysian Maritime patrol vessel KM Sebatik was dispatched to the location and safely transferred the crewmembers at a position approximately five nautical miles east of Kampung Jambu Bongkok, Marang," he said in a statement on Saturday.
Abdul Halim said all rescued crewmembers, comprising 13 Vietnamese nationals and one each from India and Bangladesh aged from 21 to 54, were taken to the Kemaman Maritime Zone jetty at 6.05pm for health checks and then handed over to their agents. – Bernama
