[UPDATED] Tanker, cargo ship collide in Johor waters

JOHOR BARU – The MV Galapagos tanker and MV Zephyr Lumos cargo vessel collided at 14.1 nautical miles southwest of the Sg Muar estuary early today.

Johor maritime director Nurul Hizam Zakaria said personnel and assets were deployed after an emergency signal was detected at 12.03am.

“We received the emergency signal from MV Zephyr Lumos, while the signal from MV Galapagos was picked up by the Indonesian National Search and Relief Agency in Pekan Baru,” he said in a statement.

“From observation, it is believed that MV Zephyr Lumos crashed into the right side of MV Galapagos.

“No casualties were reported. The cause of the incident and the number of crew involved are being determined.”

He said the Southern Region Marine Department and state Environment Department (DoE) have been informed of the incident.

In a separate statement later, Nurul Hizam said failure of the tanker’s steering system is suspected to be the cause of the collision.

“The Malta-registered MV Galapagos was reported to be experiencing a steering system failure, forcing it to move to the right as the United Kingdom-registered MV Zephyr Lumos was overtaking it, leading to the former crashing into the right side of the cargo ship.”

He said the vessels were each carrying crewmen numbering over 20, and have been detained to facilitate investigations by the Marine Department and DoE. – Bernama, July 11, 2021