JOHOR BARU, Sept 27 — Two foreign merchant ships were damaged in a collision after one lost control at 11.7 nautical miles southwest of Tanjung Laboh near Batu Pahat today.

Batu Pahat Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) maritime zone director Maritime Commander Mohd Haniff Mohd Yunus said the Johor Baru Maritime Rescue Sub Center (MRSC) was notified about the incident through the southern region Marine Department at 4.18am.

"Checks showed that collision involved the MV GSL Grania from Liberia and the MV Zephyr I from Panama.

"Following that, the Batu Pahat maritime zone operations centre dispatched the Benteng 05 boat to the location to carry out a monitoring and assistance mission.

"Further inspection found that there were no injuries reported. Both ships' crew members were safe and there was no oil spill,” said Mohd Haniff in a statement tonight.

Mohd Haniff said checks with the MV GSL Grania’s captain revealed that the accident was caused by the MV Zephyr I losing control and crashing into the vessel’s side.

He said the collision resulted in damage to the right side of the MV GSL Grania.

"The MV GSL Grania was carrying containers on its way to the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Iskandar Puteri, while the MV Zephyr I was carrying mixed bitumen and was on its way to China," he said.