Malaysia’s coast guard announced on Saturday that one of the two large oil tankers involved in a collision and subsequent fires has left the accident site and is believed to have turned off its tracking system.
The coast guard is monitoring the whereabouts of the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged tanker, Ceres I, which is suspected to be in Malaysian waters. The Ceres I collided early Friday with the Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile about 55 km (35 miles) northeast of Singapore’s Pedra Branca island, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
All 40 crew members aboard the Ceres I were accounted for, with 14 evacuated by a Singapore Air Force helicopter and 26 remaining on board to fight the fire. The vessel, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), was last reported carrying around 2 million barrels of Iranian crude, though Iran’s oil ministry has stated that neither ship was carrying Iranian oil.
The Ceres I had been anchored in an area known for illicit Iranian oil transfers, according to Michelle Wiese Bockmann, principal analyst at Lloyd’s List Intelligence. Ship-tracking data showed that the Ceres I had frequently turned off its AIS tracking transponder.
The Hafnia Nile, a Panamax tanker carrying about 300,000 barrels of naphtha, had all 22 crew members evacuated and safely arrived in Singapore. A video released by the Malaysian coast guard showed the Hafnia Nile still afloat but charred. Singapore’s MPA did not immediately comment.
Salvage experts have boarded the Hafnia Nile and established a towing connection with a tug. Hafnia, the tanker’s operator, reported that no visible flames were observed and pollution levels are still being assessed. The company is working with Malaysian and Singaporean authorities to move the tanker and cooperate with ongoing investigations into the incident.
Singapore, a major oil-trading hub and the world’s largest bunkering port, is situated in one of the busiest sea lanes globally.
