Two oil tankers have been on fire since early Friday morning after a collision to the east of Singapore, raising fresh questions over the rising risks to maritime traffic, the environment and human lives in one of the world’s busiest waterways.
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Hafnia Nile, a Singapore-flagged refined-products tanker, and Ceres I, a crude oil tanker sailing under the flag of Sao Tome & Principe, are 55km (34 miles) northeast of the tiny island of Pedra Branca, at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait.
The two crashed early on Friday, Danish shipping firm Hafnia said in a statement, adding all 22 crew had been rescued.
The Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile is seen on fire in Tanjung Sedili, near Singapore, on Friday. Photo: Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency/Handout via AFP
The owner of the Hafnia Nile said the vessel was involved in a collision with the Ceres I. The 22 crew of the Hafnia Nile and the 40 on the Ceres I were all accounted for, said the Maritime and Port Authority, which was alerted to the fire at 6.15am.
The ageing Ceres I, in particular underlines the environmental and human risks that come with the expansion of a so-called dark fleet of older vessels moving sanctioned crude through one of the world’s busiest waterways. Ship-to-ship transfers of oil are relatively common occurrences in the waters off the southern part of the Malaysian peninsula.
Ceres I hauled cargoes from Iran and Venezuela earlier this year and last year, according to data from market intelligence firm Kpler. It was built in 2001, meaning it’s still in use well beyond when most owners would consider scrapping a vessel and its P&I insurer is unknown, a characteristic common to almost all dark fleet ships, compiled data shows.
A medical team on board RSS Supreme providing help rescued crew from the oil tanker fire in the Singapore Strait on Friday. Photo: Facebook/SingaporeNavy
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.
