An Indonesian-flagged product tanker named Victory Prima has collided with a six tonne fishing vessel on the Malacca Strait, sinking it and causing one seafarer to be missing, reported Fleetmon.
The ships were both travelling down the Malacca Strait, near North Sumatra, at around seven p.m. local time on November 9, 2016; the tanker rescued three men from the water but one was missing at time of reporting.
According to sources, the tanker had attempted to avoid collision with the large Indonesian vessel but was unsuccessful.
This accident comes at a time when concerns have been raised throughout the industry over safety when travelling the vital trade route of the Malacca Strait, which sees between 30% and 40% of all global merchant traffic.
The local Malaysian Member of Parliament has announced that work on the US$1.8 Billion Malacca Gateway will begin in 2017; a joint venture between Chinese companies based in the Guangzhou province and a local Malaysian company will see the new development of a deep sea port on the busy sea route.
Piracy is also increasing in the region, and it has been predicted by some experts that the South East Asian region could see the same piracy levels as the coast of Somalia.
PTI recently published data implying that although piracy levels have reduced, the number of kidnappings has doubled, as pirates see kidnapping as a more lucrative business than hijacking.
