JOHOR BARU: A 15-man hazardous material (hazmat) unit from the Fire and Rescue Department will be deployed to the Gabon-registered crude oil tanker after an on-board explosion rocked the vessel 48 hours ago.
They will search for the three missing crew members.
Acting state fire director Mohd Rizal Buang said they would also be using their full protective gear and a thermal camera to check for gas leaks or fires on the vessel.
Mohd Rizal said the fire department was waiting for the green light from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) before deploying their personnel.
“The MMEA is the lead agency involved in the operation and we will be working with them,” he said.
He added that the hazmat team from the Larkin fire station would also check on the possible cause of the fire.
“We will be working with the ship’s engineers as they will know the layout of the vessel better,” he said.
He said the firemen would only board the vessel once it has been declared safe.
However, when asked about the possibility of finding survivors, he said they were still optimistic but he admitted that the chances were low.
The ship carried 28 crew members of various nationalities, including from India, Ukraine, Russia and Pakistan.
Of the 25 crewmen that were rescued, four sustained serious injuries to their hands, waist and legs, and had been sent to Hospital Kota Tinggi for treatment.
The three missing crewmen are two Indian nationals – Satyam Tripathi, 26, and Dinesh Kumar Chauhan, 34 – and a Ukrainian, Sabit Shenderovsky, 37.
