First, four workers were killed in an explosion in a tank of an LR1 under construction at the STX Offshore & Shipbuilding shipyard in Jinhae, South Korea for unnamed Greek interests, last Sunday.
The four men, aged in their 30s to 50s, were painting inside the 12 m deep oil tank at the time of the explosion, the national fire agency reportedly said.
The 74,000 dwt ship was was due to be delivered to a Greek owner in October.
Second, the Stealth Maritime Corp-managed MR ‘Alnic MC’, which was involved in a collision with a US warship to the east of Singapore early on Monday, was carrying nearly 12,000 tonnes of fuel oil, but there was no reported oil spill.
According to local reports, the MR was sailing from Taiwan to Singapore when the collision occurred, causing around 10 fatalities on board the warship.
Following the collision, the ‘Alnic MC’ proceeded to Raffles Reserved Anchorage where an investigation will take place.
According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Raffles Reserved Anchorage, located to the south of Bukom Island, is reserved for vessels requiring emergency repairs and damaged vessels or as directed by the Port Master.
Later it emerged that ‘Alnic MC’ was detected by the Singapore maritime authorities before its collision with the US destroyer ‘USS John S McCain’ on Monday morning.
The MPA said in response to questions from The Straits Times on Wednesday that its Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) had only detected the tanker.
However, the MPA explained that SOLAS requiring mandatory carriage of AIS is not applicable to warships or troop ships.
Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, told reporters in Singapore on Tuesday that nothing is being ruled out in the investigations. This includes possible negligence on the part of the crew, which will be investigated, he said, adding that "every scenario will be reviewed and investigated in detail".
Yesterday (24th August), the ‘Alnic MC’, was discharging its cargo of 12,000 tonnes of fuel oil in Singapore, according to Stealth Maritime who also said that the cargo discharge was cleared by the Singaporean authorities.
“Once the discharge is completed,’Alnic MC’ will proceed to a Singaporean anchorage to undergo further assessment and repair. The crew will continue to operate and maintain the vessel during this process,” the company said in a statement.
The tanker sustained a gash to the starboard side of the bow above the waterline. There were no injuries to crew and no reported pollution in the Singapore Strait.
“Stealth Maritime Corporation is continuing to co-operate fully with all of the relevant authorities in their investigations into the collision,” the company said.