Two tankers collide in Malacca Strait, supertanker being pursued

Two tankers collide in Malacca Strait, supertanker being pursued

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian maritime officials were pursuing
a supertanker that fled after allegedly ramming yesterday into
another vessel carrying oil in the Strait of Malacca off southern
Malaysia.

"We believe it is a hit and run accident and we are seeking
help from neighboring countries to locate the supertanker,
identified as M.V. Ming Wisdom," said maritime rescue official
Jaafar Hassan.

Jaafar said there were no reports of any casualties or oil
spills around the area of the accident, six nautical miles off
the island of Pulau Kukup, west of Johore state.

But the oil tanker M.V. Damansara, owned by Malaysia's Pernas
Shipping National Line, had to be taken to Johore for repairs and
to facilitate investigations, he said.

Jaafar, spokesman for the Malaysian Maritime Rescue
Coordination Center based in Port Klang, said the M.V. Damansara
was carrying jet fuel for the oil company Shell.

It had not been determined whether the supertanker was loaded.
Maritime sources said both vessels were believed to be en route
to Singapore from the northern Malaysian state of Penang. "It is
not a head-on collision as both the vessels were traveling in the
same direction," Jaafar said.

Rescue center officials said the Malaysian authorities had
tipped off Singapore and other neighboring countries on the
accident and were seeking help in tracking down the supertanker.

The Malacca Strait is a crowded, 1,000-kilometer waterway
between Sumatra island in Indonesia and Malaysia leading to
Singapore, one of the world's busiest ports.

The waterway, used by as many as 2,000 ships daily, has been
the scene of a number of major accidents which caused extensive
oil pollution.