A British cargo ship has collided with a Maltese bulk carrier on a Malaysian river, causing an oil spill.

The collision took place at the mouth of the Muar River in the Malaysian state of Johor at about 12.03am on 11th July.

First Admiral Nurul Hizam Zakaria, director of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), said a preliminary investigation detected patches of oil spill, and that the 49 crew members on both vessels were uninjured in the collision.

The MMEA director explained that Malta-registered bulk carrier MV Galapagos is believed to have encountered a steering system failure, causing it to veer into the MV Zephyr Lumos, a Britain-registered cargo ship that was passing at the time.

He added that the Maltese vessel “blocked the passage of the MV Zephyr Lumos cargo ship, which was overtaking it”.

The First Admiral said: “MV Zephyr Lumos failed to avoid MV Galapagos, causing the collision to happen about 14.1 nautical miles southwest of the Sungai Muar (Muar River) estuary.”

He added that the British vessel was making its way to the Suez Canal when the MV Galapagos, travelling towards India, veered into it, damaging its right side.

The MMEA director said: “An initial investigation by the Johor MMEA found MV Galapagos had sustained some damage and there was an oil spill from the collision.

“Both ships have been detained to assist the Malaysia Marine Department and the Department of Environment (DOE) in its investigations.”