Missing anglers found safe and sound
KOTA KINABALU: The 12 anglers who went missing near the St Joseph oil platform were found by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) about 5.30pm yesterday.
The anglers’ boat Ocean Kamara was spotted about 11.6 nautical miles south west of the oil platform by the police’s air wing which joined the search and rescue operation at 3pm, Maritime Director for Sabah and Labuan Rear Admiral Maritime Mohd Zubil Mat Som said.
Following the discovery, MMEA’s KD Berani went to the location and found the boat at 7.35pm, he said, adding that all 12 anglers on board were safe.
The boat was towed back to Serusup in Tuaran by KD Berani and weather permitting, was expected to arrive at about 10pm, he added.
Ocean Kamara departed the jetty in Kampung Serusup at 12.30pm on Friday with the 12 anglers on board. It experienced engine trouble about 7.30 pm on Saturday and at that time their location was three nautical miles south west of the oil platform. According to him, MMEA activated its search and rescue operation at 6.50am on Sunday and sent KD Berani which was assisted by marine police vessels, PA12 and PGR4.
“Most fishing boat owners do not have a passenger manifesto to identify the anglers who had hired their boats. They are also reminded to ensure that their communication system on board can communicate with SWASLA Sabah before they head out to sea.
“These two points are very important and useful in the aspect of safety at sea,” Mohd Zubir stressed.
He also disclosed that MMEA has three Remote Sensor Sites (RSS) which are located at Pulau Balambangan, Pulau Mantanani Kecil and Pulau Gaya.
The RSS system is equipped with long distance camera that is operational day and night and can estimate the size of an object it spots. The system also has an all-weather radar which can be directly controlled by the Main Control Centre in Kota Kinabalu, he said.
“I would like to express MMEA’s gratitude to the marine police and police air wing as well as MAWILLUD2 for all the assistance rendered,” Mohd Zubir said.