A Chinese cargo ship sank after it collided with a shipwreck near the Penang Straits. — Picture courtesy of MMEA

GEORGE TOWN, July 27 ― An oil spill from a Chinese cargo ship that sank off the southern coast of Penang yesterday is threatening fish and shrimp farms off Perak, The Star reported today.

According to the news report, dozens of aquatic farms are located at Tanjung Piandang in Perak, just 20km from where six tonnes of diesel and hundreds of litres of engine oil spilt into the Straits of Melaka after the ship Xin Yi Yi hit a shipwreck early yesterday morning.

The Perak government is on high alert for the spill, its Mentri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu said, adding that the state Marine Department has sent out teams along the state coastline to clean up the environmental pollutant.

“Our focus now is to prevent the spill from harming open-sea fish farms and our coastal fishermen,” he was quoted saying.

The Star quoted marine biologist Datuk Prof Aileen Tan expressing concern about the damage to the coastal environment when the oil spill eventually reaches land mass, which could take a few days.

“Coastal fisherman must not put out their floating nets or the diesel will contaminate their catch,” she was quoted saying.

According to the news report, the Chinese ship had arrived from Hong Kong to pick up a shipment of live farmed fish from Batu Maung in Penang and hit the shipwreck as he did not see a warning light on the buoy marking its location until it was too late.