Huge barges grounded on Pulau Hantu, 16 Oct 2016

Yesterday, Chay Hoon shared a sighting of two large barges that appear to be grounded on Pulau Hantu Besar's smaller lagoon. Given that the width of the gap in the seawalls around the lagoon is about 90m (estimated from Google Earth), it seems unlikely that these 50m long barges ended up in the lagoon accidentally.

Photo by Toh Chay Hoon.

What is going on? And what shores might be affected by this incident.

[Update from MPA spokesman on 21 Oct: "In the early hours of 16 Oct 2016, there was a sudden squall. The two barges, ‘New Hopper 18’ and ‘H S Hopper 27’ dragged anchors from the Selat Pauh Anchorage and drifted into the adjacent Pulau Hantu lagoon. At the time of the incident, the barges were empty and there was no pollution or injury to the crew. Subsequently, the two barges were refloated during the high water on 17 Oct 2016 and re-anchored safely in the Selat Pauh Anchorage. MPA is investigating the incident."]