The 52,400 dwt bulk carrier Nur Allya, that went missing off eastern Indonesia in late August, has been located.
According to local media reports, the Indonesia-flagged ship was found in the Halmahera Sea, north of Buru Island in Maluku.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Commission (NTSC) has reportedly determined the location of the ship by using a pinger locator.
Nur Allya went missing shortly after sending a distress signal on August 20. At the time, the vessel was carrying some 50,000 tons of nickel ore from Sagea, Gebe island, to Morosi, southeast Sulawesi. The 2002-built ship had a crew of 25 seafarers onboard.
Indonesia launched a search and rescue mission immediately afterwards. The search operations were called off on September 9, eighteen days after the vessel went missing, however, active monitoring by alerting the fleet and personnel continued.
The mystery of the missing bulker was slightly revealed when the search and rescue teams found a damaged lifeboat on the coast of Gambaru Village, South Obi District. The ship’s owner earlier confirmed that the lifeboat was part of the missing cargo ship.
In late August, relevant authorities identified oil spills in the southern waters of Obi Island, North Maluku, reportedly linked to Nur Allya.
World Maritime News Staff