A Singaporean man was discovered to have fallen overboard from a cruise ship on Sunday night in the waters off Malacca — and the crew only realised that he was missing the next day, just before the ship docked in Georgetown, Penang.
60-year-old Wuan Poh Fatt was on a holiday cruise to Penang with five others aboard the Superstar Gemini, reports the New Straits Times. CCTV footage revealed that a person fell overboard at 11.05pm on Nov 27, when the ship was 9.5 nautical miles off Pulau Besar and 12 nautical miles off Tanjung Kling.
Wuan was only confirmed to be missing after a headcount, and he had failed to respond to announcements shortly before Superstar Gemini docked in Georgetown on Monday. A report was sent to the Kuala Linggi Maritime Operations Centre, prompting a search and rescue operation by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
It would be their second similar operation conducted in a month in the waters off Malacca — a Japanese sailor fell overboard off merchant ship MT Doha late last month.
Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently providing consular assistance to the man’s family.
