BINTULU Member of Parliament Tiong King Sing has blamed Petronas for fresh Covid-19 cases in the oil and gas town in northern Sarawak after one of its offshore support vessels reported 24 infections.

The new cases onboard the GOM7 were revealed yesterday by the state disaster management committee. They are 22 crewmen and two oil rig workers.

The vessel is owned by Grade One Manjung 7, a subsidiary of Petronas.

Tiong said the vessel had not fulfilled the 14-day quarantine onboard the vessel as required by the state before its crew can come on shore.

The standard operating procedure (SOP) also require all vessels to undergo vessel quarantine upon calling at port, with no one allowed to disembark or board the vessel during the quarantine period, unless cargo needs unloading.

He said investigations following the detection of the positive cases “found that GOM7 had failed to carry out the required 14-day vessel quarantine following its arrival at Bintulu port on July 2”.

The vessel had also allowed 25 offshore workers to board the ship on July 8 before setting off for the D18 platform.

The failure to comply with the SOP meant the two rounds of screenings that could possibly detect the virus did not take place, Tiong added.

The Bintulu health department’s investigation also found that only four of the vessel’s 48 crew been vaccinated.

“Is Petronas concerned for the wellbeing of the Bintulu people? Tiong said in a statement on Facebook.

“Grade One Manjung 7 owes the people of Bintulu an explanation for this lapse. This behaviour by a government-linked company is irresponsible and contemptuous at the least.

“Many Bintulu people are looking forward to Phase 3 of the National Recovery Plan to be implemented here so that more industries can resume their operations. But with companies behaving like this, there is little hope that we can enter Phase 3 soon.”

Tiong said Petronas as the parent company cannot shirk its responsibilities and shift the blame to another party for the outbreak.

“The people of Bintulu demand an account. I have stated previously that similar outbreaks have occurred repeatedly and the same mistakes are being allowed to happen.

“Petronas must take action now and implement a lockdown, mass testing, and bear the necessary quarantine costs by the subsidiary.”

Tiong urged the Bintulu health department to fine Grade One Manjung 7 immediately and, if necessary, take the company to court for flouting the SOP. – July 27, 2021.