Malaysian agencies search for 3 missing men from Singapore-bound tanker that caught fire

The Malaysian maritime authorities were looking for three missing crew members of a Singapore-bound tanker on Tuesday, a day after

the vessel caught fire in the South China Sea

off the Johor coast.

Acting deputy director-general of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Rear-Admiral Saiful Lizan Ibrahim, said the authorities had yet to find the men.

Search and rescue operations began on Monday evening.

The search area has been widened to 71 nautical miles from the site of the incident, said Rear-Adm Saiful.

He did not discount the possibility that the three crew members – two Indian nationals and a Ukrainian – could still be on board the vessel, Pablo.

“The fire has stopped for now, but our search and rescue team has not been able to board (the vessel) due to thick smoke,” he said.

The Gabon-registered tanker was heading for Singapore from China when it caught fire.

In a statement on Monday night, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Singapore received information from the master of tanker Enola that the vessel had rescued 18 crew members from Pablo.

Seven other Pablo crew members were picked up by vessels in the vicinity.

There were no Singaporean crew members on board, the MPA said.

Media reports said four crew members of Pablo had serious injuries and were hospitalised in Johor.

Rear-Adm Saiful said the tanker had about 50 per cent damage but is still floating, and that a check showed no oil has spilt from the vessel.

He said a hazardous materials team from Malaysia’s Fire and Rescue Department will be deployed to the stricken ship on Wednesday to check it and identify the cause of the blaze before sending in a team to look for the missing men.

Pablo’s Captain Lepyoshkin Oleksandr said the fire caught the crew by surprise.

“There was a loud explosion like a bomb which shattered the ship’s windows before the fire. I tried to make an emergency call, but the equipment on the ship was damaged from the fire,” he told Malay daily Harian Metro.

“We were lucky there were two ships nearby which provided immediate emergency assistance, including helping to rescue our panicked and frightened crew.”