Two tankers on fire - crew rescue underway

The Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said it was alerted to a fire onboard both the Singapore-flagged, product tanker Hafnia Nile and the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged VLCC Ceres 1 at around 06:15 hrs SGT on 19 July.

Read the latest update 

The location around 55 km northeast of Pedra Branca falls within Singapore’s Maritime Search and Rescue region Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) ship, RSS Supreme, which is in vicinity of the incident is providing assistance and a Republic of Singapore Air Force helicopter has also been dispatched, the MPA said.

A Facebook post from the RSN showed photos of crew being rescued from a life raft and brought onboard the RSS Supreme.

Two injured crew have also been airlifted to Singapore by the RSAF helicopter Rescue 10, according to a Facebook post by the RSAF.  The two seafarers have been transferred to Singapore General Hospital for further medical attention.

The Singapore authorities have requested passing vessels to assist in the search and rescue operation.

There are no details of the incident available or what caused the fire on the two vessels. It is not known how many crew are onboard the two vessels.

The Hafnia Nile is operated by Singapore headquartered Hafnia, part of the BW Group and managed by BW Fleet Management which according Reuters was carrying a cargo naphtha. There are scant details available on the VLCC Ceres 1 which Reuters reported as last carrying Iranian crude between March to April,.