Oil Spill Not Expected To Affect Pengerang Waters in Johor

Bernama 25 May 10;

JOHOR BAHARU, May 25 (Bernama) -- A collision between tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 and bulk carrier MV Waily four nautical miles south-west of Tanjung Stapa at 6.10am Tuesday is not expected to affect Malaysian waters or local beaches.

The Johor Department of Environment (DOE), in a statement Tuesday said, south-westerly winds of 20-30km/hour and low tide from 3.25pm prevented this from happening.

"AET Tanker Holding Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary company of MISC Bhd, which operated the MT Bunga Kelana 3 has installed a boom around the ship and the Petroleum Industry of Malaysia Mutual Aid Group (PIMMAG) was appointed to handle any possibility of the oil spill spreading to the Pengerang waters," said the statement.

The MT Bunga Kelana 3 was ferrying 63,054 tonnes of light crude oil owned by Petronas from Bintulu to a refinery in Melaka when it collided with the MV Waily, which was carrying iron ore from India to Hong Kong.

The incident caused 2,000 tonnes of oil to spill into the sea and caused 10 metres of damage to the MT Bunga Kelana, while the MV Waily incurred minor damage.

The Johor DOE, with cooperation from the Southern Region Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), Police Air Wing Unit and Southern Region Marine Department continued to monitor the situation should anything happen following the incident.

The MMEA, which received information on the spill and arrived at the scene at 10.27am, managed to rescue 50 crew members on the two vessels comprising Malaysians, Indians, Pakistanis, Indonesians, Chinese and Filipinos.

The crew members did not sustain any injury in the incident.

-- BERNAMA

Related links

• Singapore Changi East Oil Spill (25 May 2010) Facebook Page for latest info, updates and observations of the oil spill.
  
• wild shores of singapore updates with consolidated news and checks on our shores for signs of crude and impact of spill.