“The master judged it was impossible to immediately stop and / or drop anchor in the busy and narrow shipping lane. He had to consider the safety of his vessel and the safety of other vessels in close vicinity. After navigating to avoid both shallow water and an island to prevent grounding, he returned to the scene of the collision,” IM Skaugen said in a statement.
On its return the company said there many craft engaged in the rescue and it was deemed unsafe for the gas carrier to be in the vicinity.
"From what we have learned so far, we believe our Captain has exercised sound judgement and made the right decision when attempting to minimise the risk of a further collision and a possible explosion due to the hazardous cargo on board our vessel. He followed company regulations and international law in this process," said Moritis Skaugen, ceo of IM Sakugen.
The Singapore-flagged Norgas Cathinka and the Indonesian ferry KMP Bahuga Jaya hit each other the bow early 26 September in the port of Merak. The voyage data recorder from the Norgas vessel has been recovered and handed over to the Indonesian authroities. The vessel requires temporary repairs of $250,000.
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