Tanjung Kling ship collision: Stern action will be taken - Exco

MELAKA: Stern action will be taken against responsible parties should there be any violation of the law in the ship collision incident in Tanjung Keling Waters here yesterday.

State Agriculture, Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative Committee chairman Norhizam Hassan Baktee said although the incident did not cause any casualties or threat to the environment, state government still viewed it seriously.

“I was wondering where the captain of the ships was and how could such incident have occurred.

“I have asked the Marine Department and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency to take stern action to serve as a reminder to other maritime communities, especially large ships,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.

Norhizam said he was informed that both ships and the captains had been detained for further investigation including to determine whether the ships had illegally entered and anchored in the Melaka waters.

Two ships, MT Strovocos and MV Ocean Line 5001 collided at about 2.4 nautical miles towards the Tanjung Bruas Terminal in Tanjung Keling Waters, Melaka at about 11.38 am yesterday.

The MV Oceanline 5001 from the Kota Laksamana land reclamation area was heading towards the sand extraction location at the Melaka Port limit before colliding into the centre-left portion of the tanker, which was then anchored at the port.

As a result of the collision, both ships were damaged and the Marine Department has set up an investigation team to identify the cause of the incident.

Meanwhile, Norhizam said the state government planned to build a buffer zone involving three zones to differentiate between the fishing area, anchorage and vessel routes.

“It is also among efforts to prevent ship collision incident from recurring and ensure smooth shipping traffic in the Melaka waters,” he added.

-- BERNAMA