KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia-registered cargo ship MV Dai Cat 06, which was reported missing on Monday (Jan 9), remains lost at sea.
Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Maritime Admiral Datuk Mohd Zubil Mat Som said the search is ongoing, coordinated by Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) in the waters of that country’s Natuna islands regency.
“We will investigate further if we discover foul play was involved in the ship’s disappearance.
“The ship carrying metal pipes left Kampung Acheh in Perak on Dec 23 and it was supposed to arrive in Kuching, Sarawak on Dec 31,” he said in a statement on Thursday (Jan 12).
Mohd Zubil said the operation involved a boat and ship from the search and rescue (SAR) headquarters in Natuna and another boat from SAR headquarters in Pontianak, Indonesia.
“The operation on Thursday is focused on the last location where the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) was detected by the Malaysia Mission Control Centre,” he said.
Mohd Zubil said MMEA also deployed its assets in Sarawak to assist in the operation from the Malaysia-Indonesia border at Tanning Datu until Kuching waters.
The missing crewmen are Indonesians Adi, 46, the ship’s master, Derrent Littor, 22, and Damai Papane Ole, 57; and Malaysians Mohammad Syafarizan Mohd Noor, 24, (the chief officer), and Mohammad Suhaideh Sudin, 22.
MMEA was notified that the ship was missing on Monday after the ship’s agent made a police report.
It was last detected in Indonesian waters, and about 0.2 nautical miles from Johor waters, on Jan 1.
At 10.42pm on Monday, the Malaysia Mission Control Centre and Singapore Police Operations Command Centre detected an emergency signal from the ship.
The SOS came from a location about 30 nautical miles north-west of Pemangkat, Indonesia and MMEA then contacted Indonesian and Singaporean authorities to help with the search.
Reference: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/01/12/mmea-search-for-missing-cargo-ship-ongoing-around-indonesia039s-natuna-islands