. Chinese tankers coollides with ship near Singapore.
Burning vessels following a fire on two oil tankers about 55 km (34 miles) northeast of the Singaporean island of Pedra Branca, July 19, 2024.
Two large oil tankers, one possibly carrying Iranian oil, were on fire on Friday after colliding near Singapore, the world’s biggest refueling port, authorities and one of the tanker owners said.
Singapore is Asia’s biggest oil trading hub and the world’s largest bunkering port. Its surrounding waters are vital trade waterways between Asia and Europe and the Middle East and among the busiest global sea lanes. Malaysian and Singaporean waters are also locations where illicit Iranian oil shipments are transferred ship to ship and then carried to China, the major buyer of sanctioned Iranian oil.
The Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile and the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged tanker Ceres I were about 55 km (34 miles) northeast of the Singaporean island of Pedra Branca on the eastern approach to the Singapore Straits, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.
The 22 crew of the Hafnia Nile and the 40 on the Ceres I were all accounted for, the MPA said, which was alerted to the fire at 6:15 a.m. (2215 GMT)
The owner of Hafnia Nile confirmed the vessel was involved in a collision with Chinese owned Ceres I.
Photographs released by the Singapore Navy showed thick black smoke billowing from one tanker and crew being rescued from life rafts and flown to hospital.
The environmental authorities in neighboring Malaysia said they had been told to prepare for potential oil spills.
Norway’s Gard, one of Hafnia Nile’s insurers, told Reuters it was too early to assess the environmental impact.
Navigational traffic had not been affected, although the status of the vessels or any pollution was unknown at present, a spokesperson at the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) said.
“No aerial surveillance has been conducted so far,” the spokesperson said.
