Tanker found, tug & barge missing

Missing tanker makes contact with owners, new alert over missing tug.

Tanker found, tug & barge missing

The MT Arsenal, reported missing by the Information Fusion Centre in Singapore on June 17th, has now contacted the ship’s owners. The product tanker, carrying a cargo of MOGAS, had gone missing in the South China Sea, where a number of vessels have been hijacked in recent weeks. Fortunately, in this instance, it appears that an equipment failure was to blame for the loss of communication, although we await formal confirmation of this from the reporting agencies.

Meanwhile, ReCAAP has issued an alert over a missing tug and barge.

The Manyplus 12 and barge Hub 18, loaded with 138 containers, left Sibu, Malaysia, bound for Port Klang, but failed to make port on the expected day, June 13th. The owner’s last contact with the tug’s Master was on 9th June at around 1910 LT, when the vessels were just over 61nm west of Tanjung Datu, Malalysia.

There are now serious concerns that the vessels may have been taken by pirates, and ReCAAP asks that all ships in the area keep a look out, but also cautions that the vessels’ names and colours may have been altered.