Maritime Monster All Jobs Moored Here
On Thursday, a bulker made contact with the stern of a Chinese fishing vessel during a complex traffic situation off the coast of Singapore – but the smaller vessel appears to have miraculously escaped. The Chinese-flagged ship Luqing Yuanyu 108 has been involved in a collision with the cargo ship Panama near Singapore pic.twitter.com/kPfpuwbDxO
At about 0800 hours on the 17th, GMT, First Margaux got underway from a busy anchorage on the east side of Singapore, headed westbound (per AIS data provided by Pole Star Global). Luqing Yuanyu 108 got under way at about the same time from a different anchorage just off Sentosa and headed south. There was heavy traffic in the vicinity, with limited room for maneuver.
Both vessels reached the westbound lane of the TSS and set a typical course towards the Strait of Malacca. Luqing Yuanyu entered the TSS in front of First Margaux, and the bulker was moving about 2-3 knots faster. Slowly overtaking Luqing Yuanyu from the smaller vessel’s port side, First Margaux passed astern of the fishing vessel and continued to close the distance as the crew watched and shouted. Sometime around 0900, First Margaux’s bow made contact with Luqing Yuanyu 108 on the starboard quarter, then pushed the smaller fishing vessel sideways, turning her and forcing her to heel hard to port. Water flooded in over the low gunwales of the Luqing Yuanyu’s main deck, throwing crewmembers about.
FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE HERE: maritime-executive.com
