SINGAPORE – A search is under way for a ship’s crew member who went missing in Singapore waters.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) was alerted to the incident at 3.30am on March 15.

The MRCC is operated by MPA.

The missing person had been on board the Liberia-flagged vessel Utopia.

Vessels from MPA, the police coast guard and the Singapore Civil Defence Force have been deployed to search for the missing crew member, MPA said.

MPA has issued navigational safety broadcasts, as well as requests for vessels to keep a lookout and report sightings to MRCC.

According to marine vessel tracking site Marinetraffic.com, Utopia is a bulk carrier currently anchored in Singapore’s Eastern Anchorage, located in the waters south of East Coast Park.

Bulk carriers are a type of merchant ship which transports large amounts of unpackaged bulk cargo, such as metal ores, coal, cereal or salt.