A major collision occured in the Singapore Strait on Tuesday as a Capesize bulker that was departing an anchorage encountered another Capesize that was passing by on a transit through the waterway.
At about 1530 hours local time on the 19th, the 180,000 dwt bulker Cape XL (IMO 9590826) arrived at the famously busy anchorage off Changi Bay, Singapore. Per W.E. Cox, she had stopped to take on bunker fuel. At about 0600 hours on the morning of the 20th, she got under way once more and headed south towards the shipping lanes, AIS data (provided by Pole Star Global) shows.
At the same time, the Capesize bulker Huge Kumano (IMO 9889277) was passing eastbound through the strait at nine knots, using the eastbound lane of the traffic separation scheme. Cape XL approached, heading south and making about six knots, and her bow struck the port side of Huge Kumano amidships. Locked together, the two vessels then drifted eastwards through the TSS. They were later separated and each went to anchor nearby; as of Wednesday, Huge Kumano was anchored in the separation zone in the middle of the strait, attended by two tugs.
W.E. Cox reports that both vessels were in laden condition, with Cape XL carrying bauxite and Huge Kumano carrying iron ore. No pollution or injuries have been reported.
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