TAWAU: It will be lights out for 15 crew members of a Port Klang-registered oil tanker which has been stranded here since August, starting yesterday, when the ship ran out of fuel.

Chief officer of the 89.93m, (3,907 tonnes) ship, Tin Zaw Aung said the ship which had arrived from Melaka in early August and unloaded its load of petroleum at the Tawau Port jetty had since run out of fuel to support the generators that provide electricity to the ship.

According to Tin, lack of lights could pose a very dangerous situation, not only to them but also to other ships that use the waters to enter or leave the Tawau port at night.

“We had already informed the Tawau Marine Department of the situation and our predicament. We hope the Marine Department can issue a warning to ships entering or leaving Tawau Port so as to avoid any untoward incident,” he told Bernama here yesterday.

He added that without fuel supply to the engines, it would also disrupt the communication systems of the ship and stall all operations.

Tin added that apart from fuel, food supply and water were also running low and could run out by today.

“Food supplied by the Marine Department is almost running out and we had also contacted the owners of the ship several times to highlight our plight but have yet to receive a positive response,” he said.

Tin alleged that the crew, made up of three Malaysians, eight Indonesians and four from Myanmar, 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 but if the company does not supply food and fuel, how can we stay berthed here longer,” he asked. — Bernama