OIL TANKER STRANDED FOR 107 DAYS, LOW ON FOOD AND FUEL

TAWAU (Malaysia), Dec 24 (Bernama) -- The 15-member crew of a Port
Klang-registered oil tanker, which has been stranded here for 107 days since
August, face starvation if no help is fortcoming from its owner.

Chief officer, Tin Zaw Aung, of the 89.93m and 3,907 tonnes ship, said the
ship arrived from Melaka in early August and unloaded its load of petroleum at
the Tawau Port jetty.

Tin said the tanker, which was hired by Petronas, did not sail back to Port
Klang on the instructions of its owner.

"Our food supply will only last for three to four days. Our water supply is
partly rain water and what we buy from Tawau using the crew's money.

"The ship's fuel supply can only last three to four days. As a saving
measure, we only switch on the engine at night and switch it off in the
day.

"If the fuel runs out, our power supply goes too. No electricity, can't
cook
and no communications," he told Bernama aboard the ship here today.

Tin alleged that the crew, made up of three Malaysians, eight Indonesians
and four Myanmars, had not been paid their wages for five months and that caused
hardship not only to them but also to their families.

"We can be patient if our wages are paid late. However, if the company does
not supply food and fuel how can we stay berthed here longer," he said.

Tin said he had contacted the ship's company several times on their plight
but has yet to get a positive response.

"We last received a letter on Oct 16 that said the company will pay our
wages before Nov 30 but till now our 5-month arrears pay has still to be paid,"
he said.


According to him, he had contacted the National Union of Seafarers of
Peninsular Malaysia to intervene and help resolve their problems.

Tin claimed the crews of two other tankers belonging to the company were
also stranded in Sibu and faced the same problems.

He said he had made reports at the Tawau district police headquarters, the
Tawau Marine Department and the Immigration Department.

Tawau is located at the south-east coast of Sabah which faces the Celebes
Sea to the east and the interior mountain ranges to the west. The geographic
coordinates of Tawau are latitude 4.298 degree North and longitude 117.883
degree East.


-- BERNAMA