Malaysia Reports Tankers are Secured as Efforts Shift to Investigation

Speaking to reporters on Monday officials with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said their portion of the efforts surrounding the collision of two tankers on Friday is now winding down with the emphasis on the investigation into the circumstances of the accident. They have confirmed that all the crewmembers are now safe and reported that both tankers are being secured.

The Chinese VLCC Ceres 1 was towed to “a safe area” approximately 20 nautical miles east of Tanjung Sedili on the southeastern portion of the Malaysian peninsular and north of the collision location near the eastern end of the Singapore Strait. MMEA said they had been told by the captain of the Ceres 1 that the 26 crewmembers that remained aboard the ship were safe.

An additional 14 members of the Ceres 1 crew along with all 22 crew from the Hafnia Nile are being accommodated in Singapore. They were taken there on Friday during the evacuation efforts while the tankers were on fire.

Malaysia officials said the Hafnia Nile will also be towed to a similar location to facilitate the investigations. Hafnia said on Saturday that the fire was out aboard the ship and salvage experts were beginning their surveys of the vessel. The ship was drifting, but officials said it was not a hazard to navigation. Hafnia told S&P Global that the vessel is secured with tugs while S&P reports a ship-to-ship transfer of the naphtha cargo is being planned.

During the next phase of the operation, Malaysia’s Department of the Environment is responsible for the environmental efforts. An overflight of the area around the collision was reported to show a small amount of oil. The Ceres 1 appeared to be empty at the time of the incident while the Hafnia vessel was transporting a cargo of naphtha to Japan.

The mystery had intensified in the hours after the incident when officials from Malaysia said the VLCC had gone dark and left the area. They launched a search of Malaysian waters and found the vessel shortly after 0100 Sunday. It was being towed by two tugs and all three vessels were seized by Malaysia.

Officials declined to provide any additional details on the nature of the incident and anything they may have learned. The VLCC which is well known as part of the shadow fleet was indicating it was at anchor but has a history of false AIS transmissions. The Hafnia product tanker was bound for Japan and transiting the strait at a speed of 14 knots. There is no indication of weather that could have been impacting the area when the two vessels made contact.