Missing cargo ship: MMEA to call up owner, family members to assist investigations

KUALA LUMPUR: The owner and family members of the crewmen of the missing cargo ship, MV Dai Cat 06 will be summoned to assist in the investigations, said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Maritime Admiral Datuk Mohd Zubil Mat Som.

"APMM will open an enquiry paper and will call the ship's owner, the crewmen's family members including the ship's agent to answer some questions about the ship's disappearance.

"Among the things that will be asked is about the safety of the ship before sailing and the welfare of the crew, including why the disappearance was only reported on Jan 9 when it was supposed to have arrived in Kuching on Dec 31," he told Bernama here today. .

On Jan 9, the Malaysian-registered cargo vessel, carrying pipe rods, valued at RM726,205, was reported missing in Indonesian waters, and a police report was lodged by the ship's agent on the same day.

The search operation for the missing cargo ship, coordinated by Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), was called off on Jan 14 after no new clues were found.

Mohd Zubil also said initial investigation found that the vessel was a sand vessel but was carrying pipe rods when it went missing.

-- BERNAMA