Oil spill in Straits monitored

Oil spill in Straits monitored

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia sent an air force plane yesterday to monitor a palm oil spill from a tanker which hit a rocky islet in the northern Malacca Straits.

A Malaysian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center official said the Orion plane was assessing the extent of the spill from the Liberian-flagged tanker Pamela.

"We sent the plane this morning but the pilot has yet to report back," the official told Reuters.

He said the 25,300-dwt tanker hit the islet off Pulau Perak on Nov. 5 and was drifting westwards towards Indonesian waters with a damaged starboard tank which was leaking crude palm oil. All the crew were safe and no assistance had been sought.