JOHOR BARU: A vessel carrying metal pipes that left Kampung Acheh in Perak for Kuching, Sarawak has been missing for 10 days.
Johor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), in an announcement today, said the boat's last known location was logged on Jan 1 in the Indonesian waters, about 0.2 nautical miles from Johor's boundary.
State MMEA director First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre in Langkawi alerted them of the missing vessel with five-men on board at 5.13pm yesterday.
The crew of the locally-registered vessel consists of three Malaysians and two Indonesians.
"It left the jetty in Kampung Acheh on Dec 23 and was on en-route until Dec 31. It's signal dropped from the radar on Jan 1.
"Its latest signal based on the Emergency Position Indicator Radio Beacon was sent from 30 nautical miles northwest of Pemangkat, Indonesia," he said at a press conference at its headquarters here today.
Asked if pirates were involved, Nurul Hizam said the authorities were exploring all angles including the possibility of bad weather.
"We do not want to speculate," he said, adding that the value of the metal pipes was RM726,205.
He said that the Maritime Rescue Control Centre in Putrajaya has also sought Indonesia's help in locating the ship.
Nurul Hizam has also called on the maritime community who have information on the missing vessel to call the agency's operations centre at 07-2199401.
