The damaged commercial fishing vessel.
KUCHING: Sixteen individuals avoided injury after a collision between a commercial fishing vessel and an empty cargo ship on Tuesday night.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Kuching district director Shahref Steve Mac Queen Abdullah said the cargo ship, which was found to be helmed by an unqualified skipper, was heading back to Kuching when the incident happened around 7.50pm about five nautical miles from Muara Tebas.
“Upon MMEA’s arrival at the location, it was found that the fishing vessel suffered damage to its right side, while the cargo ship was undamaged,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Shahref added that checks showed that not only was the skipper unqualified, the vessel’s engineer was also not recognised by the Marine Department.
As a result, the five crew members onboard the cargo ship, including three foreigners aged 19 to 51, were brought to the Tun Abang Salahuddin Maritime Complex jetty in Muara Tebas and detained for further investigation.
The case is being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952.
Shahref also reminded fishing operators and anglers to always inform the agency before heading out to sea to conduct their activities.
“Please contact Sarawak Regional Maritime Operations (Pusop) on 082432544 and provide complete information such as schedules, fishing location, crew names and passengers. This will assist the agency in case of emergencies”.