No oil spills from tanker collision near Pulau Tioman

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KUANTAN: No oil spills were reported after tankers MT Cendanawati and MT Cosmic 10 collided eight nautical miles east of Pulau Tioman on Sunday.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Eastern Region director of operations,
Capt Syed Mohd Fuzi Syed Hasan said checks found that MT Cendanawati’s cargo did not spill into the sea.

“The lubricant carried by MT Cendanawati did not spill out as it was tightly concealed,” he told reporters here yesterday.

However, the collision sprang a big leak in the engine room and rear section of the Indonesian tanker.

He said the Department of Environment (DOE) is prepared for possibility of pollution occurring.

Syed Mohd Fuzi said the tanker was anchored ten nautical miles east of Pulau Tioman under the control of appointed agency Kudrat Maritime Pelabuhan Kuantan.

The task of taking MT Cendanawati home was handed to the apppointed agency while the case was submitted to the Marine Department for further investigation.

In the incident at 5am on Sunday, 19 crew members including the skipper of MT Cendanawati were almost killed when it collided with MT Cosmic 10.

The collision left MT Cendanawati with a leak and it nearly went down while MT Cosmic 10 continued the journey.

MT Cosmic 10 is believed to be in Batam, Indonesia. — Bernamaa