VLCC drifted didn’t flee collision, say Malaysian authorities

The Sao Tome and Principe-registered Ceres I collided with the Singapore-registered Hafnia Nile on 19 July of the East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia resulting in a fire on both vessels.

“As a result of the contact, both vessels caught fire and the anchor chain of the vessel Ceres I on the starboard side was cut off and subsequently caused the vessel Ceres I to drift,” said Director General of Malaysia's Marine Department Capt Mohamad Halim Ahmed at a press conference on Tuesday, according to local reports.

The comments made by Director General contradicted previous statements made by the Malaysian Coast Guard that the Ceres I had disappeared and fled the scene to be intercepted in the early hours of 21 July being towed by two tugboats.

It was reported at the time that the Ceres I had turned off its AIS transponder, however Capt Halim said, “It didn’t try to run away but had communication and navigational issues.”

The Ceres I was found 20 nm from the collision site near the resort island of Tioman. It is not clear what happened to the two tugboats previously reported to be towing the VLCC and arrested by the coastguard.

The Malaysian authorities said that both the Ceres I and the Hafnia Nile were anchored in Malaysian waters.

Capt Halim said that based on preliminary investigations the Ceres I was anchored at the time of the collision due to technical problems when the collision with the Hafnia Nile occurred.

Related:Hafnia Nile to be moved to safe location for cargo transfer

“We do have some views on how the accident happened. It’s like one car was stationary and the other was moving. At the moment, we cannot disclose why it happened,” said Capt Halim.

The Ceres I was empty at the time of the collision while the Hafnia Nile was reported to be loaded with a cargo naphtha and bound for Kashima, Japan.

The Ceres I is alleged to be a part of the dark fleet that trades sanctioned cargoes and was last reported carrying a cargo of Iranian crude oil in March. The vessel is operated by a little-known company Shanghai Prosperity Management.

It would not be the first dark fleet tanker to be involved in a major casualty off the east coast of Peninsula Malaysia. The Gabon-registered tanker Pablo suffered a serious explosion on 1 May 2023 some 37.5 nautical miles northeast of Tanjung Sedili. The blast that ripped through the tanker left three seafarers missing.