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Oil tanker that got away crash website is apprehended in Malaysia

A tanker that got away the scene of a fiery Friday accident off Singapore entered the area of Malaysia's Bertam drifting oil terminal on Monday after being found and obstructed by Malaysian authorities, shipping information from LSEG and Kpler showed.

The Sao Tome and Principe-flagged supertanker Ceres I had left the scene of the accident with the Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile about 55 km (35 miles) northeast of the Singaporean island of Pedra Branca without description.

The Ceres I, which was thought to have actually turned off its tracking system after the accident, was then found in Malaysian waters with 2 tugboats pulling it, Malaysia's coast guard said.

AIS information on LSEG indicated that the vessel, a large crude carrier (VLCC) efficient in carrying around 2 million barrels of oil, was empty at the time of the collision.

However market specialists state the Ceres I is known to have brought Iranian oil in the past, and LSEG and Kpler information revealed the supertanker discharged Iranian crude through ship-to-ship transfers in Malaysia's Linggi transhipment center in April.

Ceres I last crammed Iranian oil through a transfer with an Iranian tanker in March 2024 off the Iranian terminal of Kharg.

It consequently moved the cargo to 2 tankers around the Malacca Strait in Asia between April 7-9, stated Claire Jungman, chief of personnel at U.S. advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran, which tracks Iran-related tanker traffic through satellite data.

Ship-to-ship transfers are typically utilized to mask the origins of sanctioned oil

Aerial surveys of the scene found minor traces of an oil. spill.

For more action, the two tankers involved will be pulled to a safe area to enable further investigation and the cause of the event will be investigated by the marine department, Kama Azri Kamil, acting maritime director of Johor state, said in a declaration, without stating where the ships would be taken.

The precise scenarios leading to the event are unknown.

All 26 crew members who had actually remained aboard the Ceres I to battle fires are safe, he added. Fourteen crew previously evacuated from the Ceres I and the Hafnia Nile's 22 crew were safe in Singapore.

The Bertam terminal lies in the South China Sea off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

Shanghai Success Ship Management, which according to LSEG information is the manager of the Ceres I, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Hafnia, the manager of Hafnia Nile, has stated it remains in discussions with Malaysian authorities to move its vessel.

The Hafnia Nile is steady and is being participated in by four pulls geared up for oil response and firefighting, Hafnia said in an upgrade on Monday.

An extra tug with deep-sea towing capacity is expected to sign up with the ship soon. Heat assessments have actually not exposed any hot spots on the Hafnia Nile's external structure, and there are no visible indications of flames or smoke. More assessments by experts on site are ongoing.

The Hafnia Nile, a Panamax tanker, was bring about 300,000 barrels of naphtha for Japan, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler and LSEG. Naphtha is a basic material for making petrochemicals.

Singapore is Asia's greatest oil-trading hub and the world's. biggest bunkering port. Its waters are amongst the busiest sea. lanes worldwide.

(source: Reuters)