MMEA: Two ships collided in Malaysian waters

Two ships collided yesterday, confirmed Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in the Malaysian waters.

The two were identified as MT Hafnia Nile and MT Ceres 1.

MMEA search and rescue operations and maritime disaster assistance director, First Admiral Zin Azman Mad Yunus, dismissed claims by the Singaporean media that the collision occurred within Singapore’s waters.

The two ships collided 25 nautical miles northeast of Tanjung Balau at 6.55am yesterday.

“According to our map, it is clear that the location is within Malaysian waters. Very clear. Batu Putih (Pedra Branca) is located 55 nautical miles from the incident site.

“Claims by the Singaporean media that the collision occurred within Singapore’s maritime search and rescue region are false,” he said at a press conference at the Tanjung Sedili Maritime Zone, reported NST.

Yesterday, the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore issued a statement reporting that search and rescue operations were underway to locate the crew of the two oil tankers after both ships caught fire in Singapore waters, which was then widely reported by the republic’s media.

The MPA claimed that both tankers were within Singapore’s maritime search and rescue region, approximately 55 kilometres northeast of Batu Putih, which they referred to as Pedra Branca.

“An RSN (Republic of Singapore Navy) vessel, RSS Supreme, which was in the vicinity, assisted.

“An RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force) helicopter was also deployed and is assisting with the evacuation of crew members,” the MPA statement read.

Yesterday, MMEA initiated a search and rescue operation following the collision between MT Hafnia Nile and MT Ceres 1 early in the morning.