3 vessels deployed to search for missing oil tanker - RMN Chief

The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) has deployed three vessels to search for an oil tanker which went missing last Thursday, at 30 nautical miles east of Tanjung Sedili, Kota Tinggi in Johor.

The KD Terengganu, KD Pendekar and KD Ganyang are in the midst of locating the MT Orkim Harmony which was laden with 6,000 metric tonnes of RON95 petrol at the time of its disappearance.

There were 22 crewmen on board. RMN Chief Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar said about 150 RMN personnel were involved in the search and rescue (SAR) operation.

"We are assisting the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in the SAR," he told Bernama when contacted today.

MT Orkim Harmony was sailing from Malacca to Kuantan when it went missing.

On board the Malaysian-registered tanker were crewmen comprising 16 Malaysians, five Indonesians and a Myanmar.

In Johor Bahru, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency's (MMEA) operations director (southern region) Maritime First Admiral Ibrahim Mohamed said the search for the Malaysian-registered vessel spanned 20,000 sq miles, from Tanjung Penawar to Mersing, and to the territorial waters of a neighbouring country.

He said MT Orkim Harmony was carrying 6,000 metric tonnes of RON 95 petrol from Melaka to the Kuantan Harbour.

"A report on the ship's disappearance was made by its owner, Orkim Ship Management Sdn Bhd at 6.30am on June 12," he said in a statement here today.

Ibrahim said the ship's crewmen were aged between 20 and 64.

He said the MMEA shared information on the incident with the Singapore Police Coast Guard and the authorities in Indonesia, Badan SAR Nasional and Badan Keamanan Laut Republik Indonesia.

In addition, the information on the missing vessel was also disseminated via Nevtext to other ships.

Ibrahim said while the SAR was underway, MMEA assets monitored the waters off Sabah and Sarawak.

He said that upon receiving a report on the missing vessel, MMEA had launched a search operation involving a helicopter, three ships and a boat.

"Two RMN ships are also helping us," he added.