A general cargo ship sank near Tanjong Rhu, Malaysia, this morning (8 July), after a hole was detected in its ballast tank.
All 10 crew members were rescued by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
Captain Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh, director of MMEA’s Selangor branch, said in a statement that the agency received a call at around 3.35 am local time, saying the crew of the 1988-built ship, Kum Jin, had spotted the hole and were trying to evacuate on a life raft.
Abdul Muhaimin noted, “MMEA mobilised its Perkasa 36 (rescue craft) to the location despite the bad weather. Upon arriving at the location, the MMEA team found that MV Kumjin was in an unstable condition and the crew and the ship’s captain were trying to move to the lifeboat.”
Kum Jin is reportedly owned by AR Shipping, a Malaysian company, according to S&P Global’s data. The ship had been moving cargo within Malaysian coastal waters.
Abdul Muhaimin said MMEA personnel evacuated Kum Jin’s crewmen to Perkasa 36 which took them to Pulau Indah Marine Police Base Jetty for further action and health checks.
Shortly after that, Kum Jin sank.
Kum Jin’s captain is an Indonesian while the other nine crewmen are from Indonesia and Myanmar.