VLCC Ceres I (IMO 9229439), which was involved in a collision / allision with tanker Hafnia Nile (IMO 9766217) late last week east of the Singapore Strait and off the coast of Malaysia, has entered the Malaysia Bertam floating oil termina area after being detained late on Sunday by the Malaysian Coast Guard.
The Ceres I left the scene of the accident on Friday July 19th.
On Saturday Malaysian officials had said that “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.” The Ceres I was accused of fleeing the scene, switching off its AIS and heading north.
Early on July 21st that situation was rectified. One of Malaysian Maritime’s patrol boats detected and overtook the Ceres 1 at a position 28nm northeast of Tioman Island, which would be as much as 80nm north of the incident. Offshore patrol vessel KM Pekan also took into custody the two tugs that were towing the damaged VLCC.
It was later found in Malaysian waters with two tugboats towing it, the Malaysian coast guard said. The tugboats were also reported to have been detained.
The Bertam floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) terminal is located in the South China Sea off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.
While the Ceres I – a very large crude carrier (VLCC) supertanker – is capable of carrying around 2m barrels of oil, AIS data on LSEG showed that the Ceres I was currently empty. Images of the tanker from Malaysia’s video show the Ceres 1 riding high, confirming it had offloaded before the incident.
While Kpler data showed that the Ceres I had loaded crude and fuel oil from Iran and Venezuela through ship-to-ship transfers between 2019 and March 2024, Iran had said that the Ceres I was not currently carrying any Iranian crude.
The Hafnia Nile, a 74,000 dwt Panamax, was carrying about 300,000 barrels of naphtha for Japan. Its manager Hafnia said over the weekend that it was in discussions with Malaysian authorities to move the vessel safely.
Malaysia’s coast guard said on Sunday that aerial surveys conducted by the coast guard found minor traces of an oil spill at the location of the collision between the Ceres I and the Hafnia Nile, which occurred in the waters about 55 km (35 miles) northeast of the Singaporean island of Pedra Branca. “The environment department has been informed and will conduct further monitoring,” it said.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) had reported that a fire broke out on both the Hafnia Nile and the Ceres I. Available AIS data indicated that the Hafnia Nile hit the starboard bow of the Ceres I at a speed of 14.2 knots. However, the Ceres I has been alleged in the past to have spoofed its AIS signals, so the reliability of AIS data in this instance is not 100%.
Investigations into the accident are ongoing. The Malaysian authorities have warned that they have detected a 17 km/sq oil slick in the area.
On Saturday Malaysia Maritime had made a confused situation even murkier by stating that “information and review of MRSC Johor Bahru together with the Malaysian Maritime Department also found the IMO registration number of the concerned ship is suspicious and the actions of the concerned ship leaving the incident area is also doubtful”.
The situation began on Friday when Singapore-flagged supply ship Dolphin 1 responded to the distress calls and a call for assistance from the MPA and rescued 14 crewmembers from the Ceres 1 (two of them injured and needing hospital treatment) shortly after the incident. But 26 members remained on board, ostensibly to fight the fire that had broken out as a result of the crash. Malaysia expressed concern that some of the seafarers still on board might be injured.
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 21st it was listed as at the Ruai archipelago.