KOTA TINGGI: The African oil tanker MT Ceres 1, which fled the scene after colliding with another tanker MT Hafnia Nile in Tanjung Balau near here, has been detained by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
It was reported recently that the Singapore-flagged MT Hafnia Nile had caught fire during the collision with MT Ceres 1, which was sailing under the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe flag, an island nation in central Africa.
The 22 crew members of Hafnia Nile were rescued by the republic's navy ship RSS Supreme and taken to Singapore for treatment. The Ceres 1, meanwhile, had 40 crew members and were said to be sailing to Brunei.
MMEA search-and-rescue operations and maritime disaster assistance director First Admiral Zin Azman Mad Yunus said the tanker was found 28 nautical miles northeast of Tioman.
"It was being towed by two tugboats when it was found. The KM Pekan offshore patrol vessel detected and intercepted the tanker at around 1.20am on Sunday," he said in a statement today.
He said the two tugboats towing the vessel were also detained.
"The MMEA and Marine Department will carry out further investigations into the incident following the detention of the tanker.
"Meanwhile, aerial surveys by the MMEA Bombardier CL 415 MP amphibious aircraft yesterday found traces of oil spill at the crash scene," he said, adding that the Department of Environment had been informed of the spill.
It was reported that the collision between the two ships happened 25 nautical miles northeast of Tanjung Balau at 6.55am on July 19.
The MT Ceres 1 had gone "dark" to flee the scene. It is believed that the captain had turned off the ship's Automatic Identification System to avoid detection by the authorities.