Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) director-general Zulkifili Abu Bakar said the incident took place 4.5 nautical miles off Teluk Ramunia, Tompok Utara, Johor.
“We have to send our assets because it happened in Malaysian waters. We are carrying out different operations (from Singapore) at the moment,” he said at a press conference at the MMEA headquarters today.
He said MMEA officers will be in touch with Singaporean authorities or Singapore could contact the agency if it wished to help in the investigations.
When asked if the US, Malaysia or Singapore would be heading the team, Zulkifili said it was not known who would be in charge of the operation.
“But since it happened in Malaysian waters, we will carry out our own operations.”
Ten sailers are missing and another five injured after the warship collided with merchant vessel Alnic MC east of Singapore early today.
Zulkifili said the injured sailers are currently receiving medical treatment in Singapore, where the two ships are also being repaired.
He said it was crucial to ensure that similar incidents do not take place as some 80,000 vessels ply the Straits of Malacca each year.
According to Zulkifili, the Johor Bahru MMEA branch received news of the incident at about 8am. No oil spill was reported following the collision.
Zulkifili said Malaysia has eight boats and one helicopter from four agencies involving the Marine Department, the police and the MMEA. The search and rescue led by MMEA is divided into four parts covering 100-mile nautical sectors.
When asked for further details on the collision, he declined to comment, saying the investigation would be jeopardised. However, he revealed that both ships had been incoming from the South China Sea.
In a statement earlier, Singapore had said joint search efforts were being carried out north of Pedra Branca in Singapore territorial waters by Singapore and Malaysian authorities as well as the US.
The collision between the guided-missile destroyer and the oil tanker was reported at 5.24am local time as the US US Navy ship was making its way to Singapore for a routine visit. Its home port is Yokosuka, Japan.
The ship involved in the accident was a Liberian-flagged tanker used for transporting oil and chemicals and weighing over 30,000 tonnes, according to industry website Marine Traffic.