Fire broke out on two tankers in Singapore waters today (19 July). The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said that at 6.15am local time, distress calls were received from the crew on the Hafnia Mile, a 2017-built 74,189 dwt products tanker and the Ceres I, a 2001-built very large crude carrier.
At the time, the tankers were 55 nautical miles northeast of Pedra Branca on Singapore’s easternmost point.
The Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile is owned by BW Group and operated by its subsidiary Hafnia Pools. S&P Global’s vessel-tracking data shows that Hafnia Nile had just been bunkered in Singapore after arriving from Huelva, Spain, on 18 July. Hafnia Nile was heading for Kashima, Japan, when fire broke out.
The Sao Tome & Principe-flagged Ceres I had departed Zhoushan, China, on 8 June, arriving in Johor, Malaysia, on 15 June. Thereafter, Ceres I had been shuttling between Johor and Singapore. It is not clear who the owner of Ceres I is, although S&P Global data shows it is registered to the Hong Kong-incorporated Ceres Shipping Ltd.
Republic of Singapore Airforce (RSAF) said on its Facebook page that RSS Supreme, which was in the vicinity of the incident, responded promptly to MPA’s request, and its helicopter, evacuated two crewmen from Ceres I to Singapore General Hospital.
RSS Supreme picked up 16 crew from Hafnia Nile. Six crew who were in Hafnia Nile’s liferaft were picked up by a Malaysian government vessel and transferred to RSS Supreme.
RSS Supreme is en route back to Singapore with all 22 crew from Hafnia Nile. All Hafnia Nile crew are receiving medical attention on board RSS Supreme.
BW Group’s spokesperson told Container News’, “Two seafarers (on Hafnia Nile) have suffered minor injuries while the remaining 20 crewmembers are understood to be in good condition.”
A Singapore-flagged tug, Dolphin 1, which was in the vicinity of the incident, picked up 14 crew from Ceres I, including the two who were helicoptered by RSAF. The remaining 26 Ceres I crew are currently conducting fire-fighting operations onboard.
MPA said, “Salvage and fire-fighting assets have been arranged by both vessel owners to support the fire-fighting efforts and subsequent towage of the vessels to safety. Navigational traffic is not affected.”
It is not known if the tankers had collided; the cause of the fires is being investigated.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
