Video: Malaysia Searches for Crew After Cargo Ship Capsizes

overturned cargo ship — Cargo ship was located overturned near the southern end of the Malacca Strait (MMEA)

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) is searching for nine missing crewmembers from a small cargo ship operating inter-island while also requesting assistance from neighboring countries. The vessel was located on Thursday overturned and floating near the southern end of the busy Malacca Strait.

According to the report, the Malaysian authorities were contacted when the ship’s operator was unable to contact the ship and reported that it could not be traced. The MMEA dispatched a patrol boat to the area to begin the search retracting the route of the vessel, the Tung Sung.

The Tung Sung, registered in Malaysia, is reported to be approximately 184 feet in length. It was sailing with a crew of nine including four from Malaysia, four from Myanmar, and one from Indonesia, ranging in age between 20 and 52.

The last AIS signal showed the vessel departing the island of Borneo near the Malaysian city of Kuching. The vessel was heading north into the Malacca Strait to Tanjung on the west side of Malaysia north of Kuala Lumpur.

At midday, they were informed that the vessel had capsized and the MMEA sent its fast response boat as well as air assets from the Royal Malaysian Police Aire Movement Team. They located the Tung Sung approximately four nautical miles Northwest of Burung Island near the southern tip of Malaysia and west of Singapore.

As of nightfall on Thursday no sign had been found of any of the crewmembers. The search was suspended overnight and resuming on Friday morning. The search area has been expanded to encompass over 210 square nautical miles.