KUALA LUMPUR: Tankers MT Hafnia Nile and MT Ceres 1 have been detained to assist in the investigation following their collision on July 19, 25 nautical miles northeast of Tanjung Balau, Johor.
Malaysian Marine Department (JLM) director-general Captain Mohamad Halim Ahmed said the case was being investigated under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (MSO) 1952/60.
At the time of the incident, the Ceres 1, which was anchored due to technical issues, was struck by the Hafnia Nile, which failed to avoid it, causing the ‘port’ side of the Hafnia Nile to collide with the ‘starboard bulbous bow’ of the Ceres 1.
“As a result of the collision, both vessels caught fire, and the starboard anchor chain of the Ceres 1 broke, causing the ship to drift,“ he said during a press conference here today.
The Ceres 1, with 26 crew members, is a chemical/oil products tanker, and was en route to Lanshan, China, without cargo, while the Hafnia Nile, with 22 crew members, is an oil products tanker, which was carrying Naphtha en route to Kashima, Japan.
Preliminary investigations revealed no oil spill was detected following the collision between the tankers.
Captain Mohamad Halim Ahmed said that a search and rescue operation was activated involving aerial assets from the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, the Royal Malaysian Air Force, and the Marine Police.
“The Ceres 1 drifted approximately 30 nautical miles before being found northeast of Pulau Tioman while it was being towed by two tugboats believed to be from Singapore on July 21.
“Earlier reports stating that the vessel left the scene after the collision were inaccurate as all systems, including the Automatic Identification System (AIS) used to track the vessel, were not operational,“ he said.
All 22 crew members of the Hafnia Nile were rescued by the Singapore Navy’s RSS Supreme and are currently being treated at a public hospital in Singapore, while the crew of the Ceres 1 remain on board their vessel. None of the crew members are local.
