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.