Two large oil tankers, one of them a part of the “shadow fleet” were on fire on Friday after alliding in waters near Singapore. Two crew members were airlifted to hospital, while others were rescued from life rafts, authorities and one of the companies said.
Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile (IMO 9766217) and Sao Tome and Principe-flagged tanker Ceres I (IMO 9229439) were about 34 miles northeast of the Singaporean island of Pedra Branca on the eastern approach to the Singapore Straits when the incident occurred, according to the MPA, which said that the 22 crew of the Hafnia Nile and that the 40 on the Ceres I were all accounted for. However, later information indicated that the status of some of the Ceres I crew was currently uncertain.
After what was initially reported as a collision, it now appears that the Hafnia Nile struck the Ceres 1 while the latter was stationary at anchor.
Analysis of the tracking data showed that the Hafnia Nile was travelling at 14 knots when it hit the Ceres 1. However there were reported to have been dubious transmissions and inconsistencies in the AIS signal from the Ceres I (see below).
The Navy was able to rescue 16 crew members from the Hafnia Nile, while another six in a life raft were picked up by a Malaysian government vessel and transferred to the frigate. All 22 crew members from the tanker were en route to Singapore.
Singaporean supply vessel Dolphin 1 picked up 14 of the 40 crew members from the Ceres I, two of whom were evacuated via a Singapore Air Force helicopter and were receiving medical attention at Singapore General Hospital. The remaining 26 crew members were initially reported to have been conducting firefighting operations onboard.
Photographs released by the Singapore Navy showed thick black smoke billowing from one tanker. Malaysia said that it was preparing for further action in case of oil spills.
However, over the weekend the circumstances surrounding the Ceres I became murkier. Malaysia confirmed it was now searching for the Chinese-owned tanker and possible additional casualties aboard the vessel. Speaking at a press event on Saturday, Malaysian officials raised numerous concerns about the Ceres 1. “So far, Malaysian Maritime has not been able to confirm the actual condition of the ship and crew of MT Ceres 1, since it is not contactable,” they reported.
Malaysia sent two offshore patrol boats, but found that the Ceres 1 was no longer at the scene of the accident, which was some 25nm north of Malaysia.
While two of the crewmembers were airlifted by the Singapore Air Force to a hospital for further treatment, reports said 26 crewmembers remained aboard the Ceres 1 to continue the firefight. Officially, Malaysia Maritime said that it was looking for the vessel to ensure the safety of the crew and assist other causalities.
The Panamax Hafnia Nile was carrying about 300,000 barrels of naphtha, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler and LSEG. Ceres I, part of the shadow fleet, is a VLCC some four times larger than the Hafnia Nile in terms of dwt, and was last marked as carrying Iranian crude during March and April. Iran’s Energy Ministry issued a statement at the weekend stating that it did not have oil aboard the Ceres 1.
Before the incident the Ceres I had been at the same location since July 11th, according to LSEG shipping data. Michelle Wiese Bockmann, principal analyst at Lloyd’s List Intelligence, said that “the Ceres I has repeatedly been involved in transferring or shipping Iranian oil in breach of US sanctions”.
US-connected lobby group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has claimed that the VLCC has been used to ship sanctioned crude from Iran, Venezuela and Russia.
The Ceres I had previously been identified as engaging in probable AIS spoofing activity by Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s Seasearcher Advanced Risk & Compliance platform. Vessel tracking data indicated that Ceres I appeared to have its AIS switched on at the time of the accident, but the signals showed an irregular pattern not consistent with a tanker at anchorage. The beneficial owner information of the ship is unknown. Its registered owner is Hong Kong-based Ceres Shipping Ltd and it is managed by Shanghai Prosperity Ship Management, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data.
Vessel tracking data shows Ceres I has long stayed anchored off Singapore and East Malaysia’s OPL, but would occasionally voyage to Chinese ports, including those in Shandong province, home to many independent refineries. The ship had changed its flag from Libya in 2019 to Panama in 2020, then to São Tomé & Principe since January 2021. Its current P&I insurer is unclear.
2017-built, Singapore-built, 43,072 gt Hafnia Nile is owned by BW Aldrich Pte Ltd care of BW Group Ltd of Hamilton, Bermuda. It is managed by Hafnia Pte of Singapore. ISM manager is BW Fleet Management Pte Ltd of Singapore. It is entered with Gard P&I on behalf of BW Aldrich Pte Ltd. As of July 19th it was located at the Riau Archipelago, en route from Huelva, Spain (departed June 10th) to Kashima, Japan, ETA July 27th.
2001-built, Sao Tome & Principe-flagged, 160,229 gt Ceres I is owned by Ceres Shipping Ltd Hong Kong care of manager Shanghai Prosperity Ship Management of Shanghai, China. As of July 19th it was listed as at the Ruai archipelago.
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