Myanmar naval ship approaches food flotilla vessel

As the voyage of a food flotilla to Myanmar in aid of the Rohingya community entered its fifth day Tuesday, a Myanmar Navy ship came close to the 'Nautical Aliya' vessel heading for Yangon.

The naval vessel came within the radar range of the Nautical Aliya, which is leading the "Food Flotilla for Myanmar', at about 11.30am and came close at about noon.

All the 195 volunteers on board the Nautical Aliya were advised to remain in their cabins as the captain, Mohd Firdaus Faisal Mohamad, 42, tried to establish contact with the naval ship.

It was learnt that the naval vessel wanted to verify the identity of the Nautical Aliya which was heading towards Yangon.

The head of the humanitarian mission, Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim, said he related the incident to Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Chief of Navy Admiral Tan Sri Ahmad Kamarulzaman Ahmad Badaruddin.

The food flotilla is taking along 2,300 tonnes of food, medicines, daily essential goods, clothes and blankets, and is expected to sail the Andaman Sea for 18 days to reach Yangon and a Rohingya refugee camp in Bangladesh.

The 'Food Flotilla for Myanmar' has been organised by the Putera 1Malaysia Club and the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisations.

Volunteers from 12 countries on board comprise medical teams, educationists, Malaysian and international journalists as well as representatives of Malaysian and foreign NGOs. - BERNAMA