KOTA TINGGI, July 21 – Tanker vessel MT Ceres 1, which fled the scene after colliding with the MT Hafnia Nile here yesterday has been found at 28 nautical miles north east of Pulau Tioman early Sunday morning.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Search and Disaster Assistance Division director, First Admiral (Maritime) Zin Azman Md Yunus said the MMEA offshore patrol vessel (OPV) KM PEKAN discovered the vessel, which was being towed by two boats believed to be from Singapore at around 1.20 am.
“The OPV KM PEKAN managed to intercept MT Ceres 1 and detained two tugboats suspected to be aiding the tanker in its escape,” he said in a statement, adding that the MMEA, with the assistance of the Marine Department, will conduct further investigation on the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe-flagged vessel.
Based on air surveillance by the agency’s Bombardier CL 415 MP yesterday, there was a minor oil spill at the site of the collision and the Department of Environment (DOE) has been informed to conduct further checks.
The MT Ceres 1 and Singapore-registered MT Hafnia Nile collided at 25 nautical miles north east of Tanjung Balau at 6.55 am on Friday.
MT Ceres 1 fled the scene of the collision and shut off its Automatic Identification System following the collision.
