By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz
SINGAPORE, Jan 12 (Bernama) -- All eight crew members of the sunken Malaysia-registered tanker Silver Sincere were rescued by the Indonesia-registered freighter Intan Daya 368 in Singapore’s territorial waters near Pedra Branca on Sunday.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it had directed the Indonesian freighter to assist in rescuing the crew after the agency was alerted to a distress call at about 3.40 pm Sunday from Silver Sincere.
“The master of the vessel had evacuated all the crew members from the sinking vessel. All crew are in healthy condition and will be disembarked at Batu Ampar, Indonesia,” it said in a statement.
At the time of the incident, Silver Sincere was reported to be taking in water.
The MPA said that as part of the search and rescue efforts, it had deployed its craft alongside vessels from the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Singapore Police Coast Guard.
“The search and rescue phase coordinated by MPA has been completed,” it said.
The MPA has also activated salvage tugs for the vessel recovery phase. As a precaution, oil spill response craft have been deployed as well.
The agency is broadcasting a navigational safety advisory for passing vessels to stay clear of the incident site. Navigational traffic in the Singapore Strait is not affected.
-- BERNAMA
