he Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) of Singapore was alerted to a fire onboard both product tanker Hafnia Nile (IMO: 9766217) and crude oil tanker Ceres I (IMO: 9229439), about 30 NM northeast of Pedra Branca in South China Sea. The MPA has requested passing vessels to assist in the crews search and rescue operation. A Republic of Singapore Navy ship, RSS Supreme, near the incident, is helping. A Republic of Singapore Air Force helicopter has also been dispatched to assist with evacuating the crew. The location and reason for the fire, as well as the number of missing crew members, are still to be disclosed.
From social media sources its said that Ceres 1 was at anchor while Hafnia Nile was underway. It is reported that 22 Crew from Hafnia Nile and 6 crew from Cers1 has been rescued. Apparently collision took place around 10 hours.
As per AIS Tracking Hafnia Nile was doing speed of more than 14 knots when it collided with Ceres one, surprisingly Ceres 1 went underway after the collision and both vessel were doing around speed of 1.5 to 2.0 knots. From the AIS tracking both were very close to each other within 30 min of the collision.
Hafnia Nile is being managed by the BW Fleet Management Private Limited and the Ceres 1 managers are Shanghai Prosperity Ship Management Company limited.
Ceres 1 has history od serious incidents in past as well including collision. Ceres 1 went aground on 11th May 2012 in Singapore Strait and was refloated after 2 days. That time vessel name was Pacific Glory. Prior to this incident in Jan 2007 it had collided with with US submarine near Strait of Hormuz while enroute to Singapore. In both the above cases there were no injury, loss of life or any sort of pollution after the incident.
As per media release of MPA Singapore all crew (22) of Hafnia Nile has been rescued and 14 crew out of 40 crew of Ceres 1 has been rescued and other 26 crew members are onboard involved in firefighting. The Republic of Singapore Navy Formidable-class 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. RSS Supreme is en route back to Singapore with all 22 crew from Hafnia Nile. All Hafnia Nile crew are receiving medical attention on board RSS Supreme. A Singapore-flagged supply vessel, Dolphin 1, which was in the vicinity of the incident, picked up 14 crew from Ceres I of which two were evacuated by a Republic of Singapore Air Force helicopter and are currently receiving medical attention at Singapore General Hospital.
Salvage and fire-fighting assets have been arranged by both vessel owners to support the fire-fighting efforts and subsequent towage of the vessels to safety. Navigational traffic is not affected.