Three Crew Missing from Ship in Batam

Batam, Riau Islands (Antara) - Three crew members of the semi-submersible barge that sank in Batu Ampar waters on Friday have not been found, though nine crew members survived. "Nine crew members survived, another three are still missing," the coastal director of the Riau Islands provincial police, Senior Commissioner Muhammad Yassin Kosasih, said here on Saturday. The coastal police unit had deployed several Search and Rescue (SAR) ships to search for the three missing crew members, Kosasih said, adding that the SAR team had combed Batuampar and surrounding waters. Before sinking, the ship, which left Tanjung Uncang seaport at 8.00 a.m., was guided by the tugboat Ocean Unicom towards Batuampar seaport to conduct a sailing test. According to Kosasih, the semi-submersible barge, which was built by a Chinese company, Cosco Shipyard Zhouzan, was completed in December 2012. The 150 meter-long and 40 meter-wide barge belongs to the Posh company, located in Singapore. (*) Reporting by Jannatun Naim