Tanker in collision off Malaysia coast still burning

The collision occurred on Tuesday, and officials said a search was on for nine of the tanker’s 25 crew members.

Oil traders said the Cargill-chartered tanker, Formosaproduct Brick, was shipping the cargo of naphtha, a petrochemical feedstock, from the United Arab Emirates to Daesan and Yosu in South Korea.

A spokeswoman from the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency said there was no immediate danger that the Liberian-registered tanker would sink. But she said firemen were trying to control the fire, which was still blazing hours after the collision with the Ostede Max, a British-registered bulk carrier.

“We might just have to wait for the fire to die down. The shipping lanes are not affected now because we pulled the tanker away,” she said. “There is still no word about the nine crew members,” she added.