Tankers catch fire following collision near Singapore; all crews rescued

Two commercial oil tankers caught fire after colliding with each other off the eastern coast of Singapore on Friday, July 19.

At around 06:15 local time on Friday, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was alerted to a fire on board both the Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile and the São Tomé and Príncipe-flagged tanker Ceres I about 55 kilometres northeast of Pedra Branca island within Singapore’s Maritime Search and Rescue Region. A total of 22 crew were on on board Hafnia Nile while 40 crew were on board Ceres I at the time of the incident.

The Republic of Singapore Navy frigate 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. All Hafnia Nile crew were later given medical attention.

The Singapore-flagged supply vessel Dolphin 1, which was in the vicinity of the incident, picked up 14 crew from Ceres I. Two of the survivors were evacuated by a Republic of Singapore Air Force helicopter and are currently receiving medical attention at Singapore General Hospital. The remaining 26 Ceres I crew were left aboard the ship to conduct firefighting operations.

Salvage and firefighting assets have been arranged by both vessel owners to support the firefighting efforts and subsequent towage of the vessels to safety. The MPA assured that navigational traffic has not been affected by the incident while insurer Gard it was still "too early" to determine the extent of the environmental impact.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has since apprehended Ceres I, claiming that the tanker had attempted to flee the area following the collision. The MMEA also said it had detected an oil slick of approximately 17 square metres near the area of the incident, though it remains unclear whether the oil had spilled from either one of the vessels involved.