This handout photo taken on May 1, 2023 and released by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency on May 2, 2023 shows the tanker MT Pablo after the vessel caught fire off Malaysia's southern coast during its journey from China to Singapore. (HANDOUT / MALAYSIAN MARITIME ENFORCEMENT AGENCY / AFP)
KUALA LUMPUR/SINGAPORE – Malaysian maritime authorities were searching on Tuesday for three crewmembers missing from a Gabon-registered tanker a day after the 26-year-old vessel caught fire in waters off the southern coast.
The ship, Pablo, sailing from China to Singapore to pick up crude oil, was not carrying cargo and there were no reports of an oil spill, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said.
The remaining 25 crew were rescued, including 23 picked up by two ships nearby, authorities said. Four had serious injuries
However, it did not rule out the chance that the men, two Indian nationals and a Ukrainian, could still be aboard, as smoke made it unsafe to inspect the vessel after the fire appeared to have stopped by afternoon.
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"There is a possibility that the three are still on the boat," Saiful Lizan Ibrahim, a top MMEA official, told a news conference in the southern state of Johor.
The remaining 25 crew were rescued, including 23 picked up by two ships nearby, authorities said. Four had serious injuries.
Rescuers were scouring an area of 71 nautical miles in the search for the missing crew.
Pablo Union Shipping, the Marshall Islands-based owner of the vessel, according to shipping databases, could not be located to seek comment. The vessel's insurers were unknown.
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The MMEA said it began search and rescue operations after being notified of the fire on Monday at 4 pm (0800 GMT), and was investigating its cause.