Malaysia tracks down and detains oil tanker involved in collision with another ship

Ceres I left collision site and turned off its tracking system on Friday

Ceres I is seen off the coast of peninsular Malaysia near Tioman Island (Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency)

Malaysia’s coast guard on Sunday located and intercepted an oil tanker involved in a collision with another ship before fleeing the scene two days ago.

The Sao Tome and Principe-flagged tanker Ceres I, which had left the collision site and turned off its tracking system, was found in Malaysian waters being towed by two tugboats.

Both the tanker and the tugboats have been detained for investigation, the coast guard said in a statement.

Aerial surveys showed minor oil spill traces at the collision site and the environment department said it will conduct further monitoring.

Zin Azman Mohamad Yunus, the head of the Malaysian coast guard’s search and rescue team, has not provided an explanation for why the tanker attempted to flee. He, however, said further investigations will be conducted.

The tanker collided with the Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile on Friday, resulting in fires on both vessels. The collision occurred in the waters about 55km northeast of the Singaporean island of Pedra Branca.

Singaporean officials reported that all crew members from both ships were rescued.

“A first assessment on board the vessel confirms that no visible flames are observed,” Hafnia said. “Pollution levels around the vessel are still undetermined.”

According to ship-tracking data from Kpler and LSEG, the Hafnia Nile, a Panamax tanker with a capacity of 74,000 deadweight tonnes, was carrying approximately 300,000 barrels of naphtha.

The supertanker Ceres I entered the area of Malaysia’s Bertam floating oil terminal on Monday morning after it was intercepted by local authorities on Sunday, Malaysia’s The Star reported.

The Ceres I, built in 2001, is part of the sanctions-busting “dark fleet” that transports oil from countries under sanctions.

A handout photo released on 21 July 2024 by the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency shows Ceres I off the east coast of peninsular Malaysia near Tioman Island (Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency)

The area where Ceres I had been anchored is known to be used by “dark fleet” ships for the transfer of Iranian oil in contravention of US sanctions, Michelle Wiese Bockmann, principal analyst at Lloyd’s List Intelligence told Reuters on Friday.

Matt Stanley, head of market engagement for EMEA & APAC with Kpler, said the Ceres I has “gone dark” numerous times, meaning it has frequently turned off its Automatic Identification System tracking transponders.

According to the Equasis database, the vessel has been owned and managed by the Chinese company Shanghai Prosperity Management since 2019, Seatrade Maritime news reported.

Additional reporting by agencies.