Maritime safety officials in South East Asia were on high alert over the weekend as a general cargo ship and a bunker tanker sank and a product tanker caught fire as torrential rains and high winds caused by a monsoon surge lashed the region.
The first vessel that sank was the Vietnamese-flagged 7,900-dwt Dolphin 18 (built 1999), which was about 274 nautical miles (507 km) south-west of Vung Tau, Vietnam, on 11 January.
According to the Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Dolphin 18 sounded a distress call that was answered by the 2,320-teu container ship Nicolai Maersk (built 2000) at 7am (GMT 2300).
The distressed vessel was carrying 18 Vietnamese crew at the time.
The Nicolai Maersk was in time to rescue the Dolphin 18’s crew from lifeboats, but the vessel sank.
The MPA said the 18 crew will disembark at Malaysia’s Tanjung Pelepas port.
The Dolphin 18 was owned by Haiphong-based Vinh Son Trading and Transport and was operated by compatriot company ITC International Transport and Trading, according to S&P Global’s International Ships Register (ISR).
The second vessel that sank was the Malaysian-flagged 1,200-dwt bunker tanker Silver Sincere (built 1987) because it “was taking in water”, according to the MPA.
The Silver Sincere was in Singapore territorial waters off Pedra Branca when it put out a distress call to the MPA in the afternoon of 12 January.
The vessel was carrying eight crew members at the time.
According to the MPA, it directed the Teguh Persada Kencana’s Indonesian-flagged 12,000-dwt general cargo ship Intan Daya 368 (built 2013) to recover the crew, who will be dropped off at Batu Ampar, Indonesia.
The MPA said its own craft and boats from the Republic of Singapore Navy and the Singapore Police Coast Guard were activated for the search and rescue phase.
The MPA is conducting the vessel recovery phase and has activated salvage tugs and oil spill response craft.
The Silver Sincere was owned by Malaysia’s CCK Capital and operated by Klang-based bunker player Peninsular Marine, according to the ISR.
Protection and indemnity coverage for the Silver Sincere is provided by the Shipowners’ Club.
Fire on product tanker
Earlier on Sunday morning, the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) began a search and rescue operation when the Mongolian-flagged, 7,700-dwt product tanker Eagle 1 (built 1995) caught fire south-east of Tanjung Piai.
Coastguard vessels and tugs were dispatched to fight the blaze on the Mongolian-flagged tanker, which is owned by Vancol Emil Petroleum of the United Arab Emirates.
The fire was brought under control later in the day and no oil spills have been detected.
The MMEA said that 14 of the Eagle 1’s crew members, comprising Myanmese, Indonesians and Singaporeans, were evacuated by a coastguard vessel and transported to shore.
The other crew member, an Indonesian citizen, drifted into Singapore waters, where he was later found unconscious and taken to hospital for further treatment.
Singapore’s National Environment Agency said on 2 January that the monsoon surge was being caused by a strengthening of high-pressure systems over the northern Asia, which brought about a surge of strong north-easterly winds over the South China Sea.
The weather agency predicted thundery showers in the first two weeks of January.