MMEA rescues 7 crew members of vessel

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Nautika Tanjung Puteri XXX was repaired and escorted back to Bintulu Port by MMEA boat.

BINTULU: Seven crew members of Nautika Tanjung Puteri XXX were rescued by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here on Monday.

They were found drifting some 95 nautical miles from Bintulu Port, Tanjung Kidurong after the vessel encountered engine failure.

MMEA Bintulu enforcement chief Capt Rahim Ramli said they received a distress call from the shipping agent informing them about the incident around 4pm on Monday.

“MMEA immediately dispatched KM Tabah from Bintulu with 23 personnel on board to the reported location, but the vessel was not seen in the area.

“The search continued almost two hours and around 8pm, KM Tabah found the vessel drifting some 26 nautical miles from its last reported location, which is near to the oil platform (DM35 Bayan),” he said at a press conference yesterday.

According to Rahim, the vessel which was on its way here from Batam, could have run out of fuel but after thorough inspection later, it actually had engine problems.

The vessel was then towed to a safer place for repair and later escorted by MMEA boat to Bintulu Port.

Rahim was glad that his enforcement team reached the location at the right time and managed to overtake the vessel; otherwise it might have hit the oil platform while drifting away in the rough weather.

Meanwhile, Rahim urged the maritime community to be more aware of their surroundings to avoid similar incidents in the future.

He said by alerting the local authority early, immediate action and assistance could be taken to prevent any untoward incident from happening.

MMEA Bintulu can be contacted at 086-314087 or 999 if there is any emergency in Sarawak waters.