On August 12, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) received an alarming report from an oil rig in the Gulf of Thailand about a drifting “ghost ship.” The abandoned vessel, which appeared burnt out, posed safety risks to nearby oil platforms, being located about four nautical miles from the Semangkok A offshore rig near Terengganu.
The crew reported the unmanned vessel at 4:45 p.m. local time, prompting immediate concern over potential collisions with other offshore platforms. An MMEA director stated that the Special Task and Rescue (Star) team boarded the tanker by 6:58 p.m. and secured it with a towline to another vessel.
Investigations suggest this may be the same ship reported on fire on August 7, approximately 36 miles east of Tanjung Sedili Kechil. During a search and rescue mission, the MMEA recovered four Indonesian crewmembers, while a fifth, a 42-year-old, tragically died in the incident.
The abandoned vessel is now being towed to a supply base in northern Malaysia for inspection to confirm its identity and to search for any additional victims.
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