A Malaysian firefighter vessel sprays water onto a burning a Taiwanese oil tanker near the coast of Port Dickson, 50 km south of Kuala Lumpur, yesterday, after it collided with another vessel. AFP

KUALA LUMPUR: Fire crews yesterday battled a blaze aboard a Taiwanese oil tanker carrying 58,000 tons of naphtha fuel in the Malacca Strait after it collided with another ship, Malaysian police said.

Nine crewmembers from Chinese mainland were missing after the tanker collided with a Greek-managed bulk carrier vessel on the vital Asian shipping route.

"The MT Formosa Product Brick is on fire and is now listing on its left side. We fear it may sink," local marine police chief Rizal Ramli told AFP.

"The collision happened last night in clear weather off Port Dickson. We have rescued 16 crew members, mainly from the Chinese mainland," he said, adding that two of the rescued crew are from Taiwan.

The police chief of the southern state of Negeri Sembilan, Osman Saleh, said the ship was loaded with 58,000 tons of naphtha and was heading for South Korea via Singapore.

He said some oil had been spilt and that dozens of maritime officials and a total of 11 boats and two helicopters were battling the blaze.

Osman said the burning tanker was not a threat to other ships in the Strait and was not disrupting traffic.

Accidents are rare in the narrow Malacca Strait, a vital artery for world trade.

Rizal said a search was under way off the coast of Port Dickson, in Negeri Sembilan, south of Kuala Lumpur, for the missing crew members.

"The bulk carrier slammed into the left side of the Taiwanese tanker that was coming from United Arab Emirates," he said.

Maritime officials said the bulk carrier was flying the Isle of Man flag.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said in a statement that the bulk carrier MV Ostende Max did not suffer serious damage and had been ordered to berth near Port Dickson for investigations.

Rizal said the 16 crewmembers rescued had been admitted to hospital in Port Dickson.

At least 94,000 ships sail the narrow strait each year, of which 20 percent are Japanese vessels, most of them large crude oil carriers.

Last month a Japanese foundation warned of potential dangers in the Strait and urged ship owners to contribute to the Malacca Strait navigation safety fund to help maintain buoys and other navigational aids.

"There is a potential for an accident to happen. If it involves crude oil tankers, there will be a major oil spill. This could disrupt international trade," Nippon Foundation chairman Yohei Sasakawa told AFP.

The Malacca Strait, one of the busiest waterways in the world, is vital to Japan's national interests, as more than 80 percent of its oil passes through it.

AFP

(HK Edition 08/20/2009 page2)