Two large oil tankers caught fire in waters near Singapore on Friday, raising environmental concerns and potential impacts on operations at the world’s largest refueling port.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) reported that it was alerted to the fire at 6:15 a.m. (2215 GMT) on both the Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile and the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged tanker Ceres I. A helicopter evacuated two crew members to Singapore General Hospital, but no further details were provided.
The Singapore Navy’s frigate RSS Supreme rescued the crews from the vessels and is providing medical assistance. Details of the rescues were not immediately disclosed.
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The tankers were approximately 55 km (34 miles) northeast of Singapore’s Pedra Branca island, on the eastern approach to the Singapore Straits. Navy photographs showed thick black smoke billowing from one of the tankers.
The cause of the fires remains unclear. The Panamax tanker Hafnia Nile, with a capacity of 74,000 deadweight tons (IMO 9766217), was carrying around 300,000 barrels of naphtha, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler and LSEG. The fuel being carried by the very-large-crude-carrier (VLCC) Ceres I (IMO 9229439), with a 300,000 deadweight-ton capacity, was not immediately identified. The tanker had last been marked carrying Iranian crude between March and April.
As Asia’s biggest oil trading hub and the world’s largest bunkering port, Singapore’s surrounding waters are crucial trade waterways between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
