Cargo vessels collide off Malaysian coast

Cargo vessels collide off Malaysian coast

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Agencies): Two cargo ships collided in
the Strait of Malacca off the western coast of Malaysia, where
thick smoke from forest fires has hindered visibility. Twenty-
eight crew members were missing, officials said yesterday.

The Madras, India-registered Vikraman, a bulker, and the Mount
1, a cargo vessel registered in St. Vincent in the Caribbean,
collided at about 11 p.m. Friday, said Roslee Mat Yusof, an
officer at Malaysia's Maritime Rescue Coordinating Center in Port
Klang.

Roslee said investigators had yet to determine whether the
thick smog that has shrouded the region was to blame. He said
dozens of rescue ships were in the vicinity of the collision,
about 9 kilometers (5 miles) south of Cape Rachado, one of the
main lighthouses off Port Dickson about 120 kilometers (72 miles)
southwest of Kuala Lumpur.

The 28 missing crew members were all from the Vikraman, which
sank. There were no casualties on board the Mount 1.

Malaysia's Deputy Transport Minister Ali Rustam said that the
Marine Department had not determined the cause of the collision
but he did not dismiss the possibility that the smog was a
factor.

"In view of the haze situation, all vessels plying the Strait
of Malacca should be more cautious," he said.

The collision was some 425 kilometers (255 miles) southeast of
the Indonesian city of Medan, where an Indonesian jetliner
carrying 234 people crashed Friday in an area of Sumatra clouded
with smoke from hundreds of forest fires.

Meanwhile migratory birds are dropping dead from the darkened
skies of the western Philippine island of Palawan as the haze
worsens from Indonesia's forest fires, environmentalists said
yesterday.

Youngsters are complaining of eye pain, fishermen are getting
lost at sea and farmers report increased insect attacks on their
crops.

The Department of Environmental and Natural Resources warned
the haze can lead to acid rain, and health officials urged
residents prone to bronchial ailments to stay indoors or wear
masks in metropolitan Manila.

The status of the birds dying on Ursula Island, a sanctuary
for those coming from the south, was disclosed by Inocencio
Magallanes, with the environmental group Haribon.

An environmental team sent to check the sanctuary had to turn
back because of zero visibility, said Puerto Princesa Mayor
Edward Hagedorn.

The haze has been blamed on forest and ground clearing fires
in the provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan.

Palawan Public Information Officer Ofelia Rondina said
fishermen were losing their way because the haze shrouded
familiar beacons and landmarks, and farmers were complaining of
an increase in insects infecting crops.

Experts said the haze could have forced insects out of their
forest habitats.

The DENR warned that aside from increased air pollution and
reduced visibility, the haze could result in acid rain, formed
when air pollutants mix with water vapor resulting in
precipitation composed of sulfuric and nitric acid.

In a memorandum to President Fidel Ramos, Environment
Secretary Victor Ramos stressed "the seriousness of this problem
is still to be determined."

He proposed the immediate dispatch of experts to Indonesia
"not only to provide additional expertise, but also to learn from
that country's experience."

Senator Orlando Mercado backed calls for the immediate
convening of ministers representing the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) to explore how the entire region can fight
the fires and the resulting haze.

From the Netherlands, it was reported that leading Dutch tour
operators canceled journeys to Sumatra on Friday in reaction to
forest fires raging on the island and the Indonesian passenger
plane crash.

Unitravel, a Dutch firm specializing in trips to Indonesia,
said it was canceling all holidays to Sumatra up until at least
Oct. 5.