22 crew members rescued from burning tanker in East Johor Straits

Some 22 crew members were rescued from a burning tanker anchored off the East Johor Straits, within Singapore waters.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement that they were alerted to the fire on board the Malta-flagged tanker Med Atlantic at 10.30am on Monday (Oct 21).

The fire started in the engine room.

Singapore Civil Defence Force marine firefighting and rescue vessels, and two tug boats were deployed on-scene to render assistance and ensure navigational safety.

An MPA patrol craft, two police coast guard craft and two tugboats were also deployed to render assistance and ensure navigational safety, MPA added.

According to a media statement by MPA, all 22 crew members have disembarked the vessel, and are reported to be safe with no injuries.

MPA also said that there is no disruption to vessel traffic in the area. It is also issuing navigational broadcasts for passing vessels to keep clear of the incident area. 

Based on ship-tracking platform MarineTraffic, the Med Atlatic is about 0.6 nautical miles (about 1.1km) to the east of Changi Airport. 

The Singapore Food Agency is also monitoring the situation closely as there are fish farms located off the coast of Pulau Ubin and Changi village.

The agency has advised fish farms in the vicinity to take precautionary measures.

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editor@asiaone.com