KUALA LUMPUR - The ship with 14 crews and 500 tons of cargo missing on Saturday in the South China Sea has been found with its crew members safe, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said on Thursday.

"Cargo vessel Sah Lian, reported missing on Sept 7, found off Miri this morning, crew members safe," MMEA said on its twitter account.

The vessel, registered as "San Lian," departed from Kuching Port Authority on Sept 2 and was expected to arrive in Limbang on Sept 5. However, the vessel did not reach Limbang as scheduled and the owner failed to contact his crews.

It was believed that the ship was hijacked and taken out of Malaysian waters.