Titus Zheng | Dec 17, 2015 3:44AM GMT

IHS Fairplay's Sea-web.com shows 2000-built Stolt Commitment anchored at the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait as of 17 December, 02.53 local time.

Six crew are missing after Cayman Islands-flagged tanker Stolt Commitment and Antigua & Barbuda-flagged cargo ship Thorco Cloud collided 6 nm northwest of Batam, Indonesia.

After the collision, the 10,385 dwt cargo ship sank with its loaded cargo of 560 tonnes of bunker fuel, while 37,438 dwt Stolt Commitment suffered minor damage.

Thorco Cloud is owned by Denmark-based Thorco Shipping, while Stolt Commitment is managed by the Netherlands-based Stolt Tankers.

Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) responded to the incident by dispatching two patrol craft. These were accompanied by another five vessels from Singapore’s Police Coast Guard (PCG), then another two vessels from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) for the search-and-rescue operation. In addition, Stolt Commitment joined in the rescue efforts for the missing crew of the cargo ship. According to MPA’s report, there were no Singaporean crew members on either vessel.

Indonesian authorities were notified and joined in the search-and-rescue operations. Through the rescue efforts, PCG rescued five of the 12 crew members from Thorco Cloud, while a sixth was rescued by Stolt Commitment.

IHS Fairplay understands that the six rescued crew members were sent to Singapore General Hospital. The search-and-rescue operations are continuing for the six remaining crew of Thorco Cloud.

MPA told IHS Fairplay that with better visibility during daylight hours, the search-and-rescue operations could be expanded. Moreover, the port authority has issued navigational broadcasts to vessels operating in the vicinity to keep a lookout and report any sightings of missing crew members.

An anti-pollution craft was stationed near the accident site on standby, despite no report of any oil spill caused by the collision.

Indonesian authorities have co-ordinated precautionary measures with MPA and they have surveyed and marked out the sunken cargo ship. The joint effort is to ensure navigational safety in the vicinity and prevent any disruption of shipping traffic in the Singapore Strait.

IHS Fairplay's Sea-web.com shows 2000-built Stolt Commitment anchored at the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait as of 17 December, 02.53 local time.

 

Source: Titus Zheng/http://fairplay.ihs.com