JOHOR BARU: Twenty-seven Indonesian crewmen were rescued after three barter trade boats sank in separate locations due to bad weather around Pulau Pisang near Pontian.

       Johor Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency’s (MMEA) director First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria said the boats’ operating company informed the agency of the emergency at around 11am on Wednesday (Nov 10).

       A search and rescue operation was activated about 30mins later to look for the three coconut-laden boats namely KLM Budiman, KLM Alam Makmur and KLM Firman Jaya 3 that were hit by bad weather conditions, he said.

       “The first boat KLM Budiman was found partially sunken some 8.1 nautical miles (around 15km) from Tanjung Laboh, Batu Pahat at 12.27pm.

       “A barter trade boat nearby saw them and helped to rescue 10 Indonesian nationals from the sinking boat,” he said in a statement, adding that the sinking boat was also pulled to safety by the other boat.

       One of the three coconut-laden barter trade boats KLM Budiman, which was partially sunken, being pulled to safety by another barter trade boat that was passing by some 8.1 nautical miles (around 15km) from Tanjung Laboh, Batu Pahat at around 12.27pm on Nov 10, 2021.

       Nurul Hizam added that seven crewmen were swiftly rescued by another vessel about 7.4 nautical miles (about 13.7km) southwest of Pulau Pisang at 12.57pm after the second boat KLM Alam Makmur sank at an unknown location.

       At 3.45pm, 10 crewmen from the third boat, KLM Firman Jaya 3, were rescued by another barter trade boat that was passing by and the men were brought to Tanjung Balai, Indonesia.

       “KLM Firman Jaya 3 also sank at an unknown location due to bad weather.

       “Fortunately, all the 27 Indonesian nationals managed to escape unhurt from the incident.

       “MMEA and the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre would like to express appreciation to the agencies involved in the operations as well as the maritime community for their assistance,” he said.