Cargo ship sinks off Tanjung Sepang; Six rescued, three still missing

Cargo ship sinks off Tanjung Sepang; Six rescued, three still missing
NURUL AMANINA SUHAINI - December 26, 2018 https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2018/12/443980/cargo-ship-sinks-tanju...

KOTA TINGGI: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) rescued six crew members after a cargo ship sank off Tanjung Sepang, near here yesterday.

Authorities are still looking for three more reported missing in the 2pm incident.

Johor MMEA director First Admiral (Maritime) Aminuddin Abdul Rashid said a search and rescue operation was activated immediately after the agency received information that MV Amanda had overturned and sank about 3.3 nautical miles east of Tanjung Sepang this afternoon.

"Based on the ship captain's information, the vessel's generator was damaged, causing the wheel to be non-functional,

"He was attempting a full astern but the waves were too strong. The waves pushed the ship further before it crashed into another vessel nearby, causing it to overturn." he said.

Aminuddin said checks revealed that two of the missing crew members were from Bangladesh while another one a Chinese national.

"We have deployed three ships and a boat - from MMEA, police and the Malaysian Navy - to assist in the search." he said.