A laden VLOC was listing severely off a terminal in Brazil controlled by iron ore producing giant Vale.
Incident reports on the casualty detailed that Polaris Shipping's 300,630-dwt bulker Stellar Banner (built 2016) requested assistance after finding water in its cargo holds Wednesday morning.
The reports suggested the vessel had possible crack in its hull.
Vale said the ship was suffered bow damage after leaving Ponta da Madeira maritime terminal in the northern Brazil city Maranhao on Monday night as it exited the port access channel.
"It was also reported to Vale that, as a preventive measure, the 20 crew members were safely evacuated and the shipmaster adopted a grounding maneuver almost 100 km off the coast of Sao Luis," the Brazilian iron-ore giant said in a statement.
"Vale is working on technical-operational support, sending tugboats, and collaborating with maritime authorities."
Sources close to Vale told TradeWinds that after an initial list worsened during the night the bulker was intentionally grounded by its master.
Some reports said oil has been observed in the water near the vessel and a tug with containment equipment is being sent to the site.
Stellar Banner had recently loaded iron ore at Vale's Ponta da Madeira terminal in San Marcos Bay and is about 65 nautical miles (120 km) off the facility.
Initial reports said the listing bulker was intentionally grounded by its master.
Polaris, which is listed in Equasis as both owner and manager of the Marshall Islands-flag Stellar Banner, said Thursday that the VLOC made contact with an unidentified shallow seabed after leaving the terminal in the northern Brazil city Maranhao on Monday night, at around 9:30pm local time (0030 GMT Tuesday).
“As a result of the incident, some ballast water tanks and void space suffered damage although the extent of damage to be further established,” said Polaris. “All cargo holds are believed to be intact and the situation is under control.”
Polaris claimed Thursday that reports of a leak from the ship are speculative.
“Salvage operation is on the way,” he said. “In order to assess damage and secure its own safety, the vessel is shifted to a safer area. Proper inspections will be carried out by class [and] underwriter surveyors and a salvage company has been arranged for dealing with the situation,” the company said.
Polaris said it is in close contact with authorities about the situation.
The Stellar Banner is classed by the Korean Register of Shipping and has insurance coverage from Britannia P&I.
Clean record
Safety data from Equasis shows no detentions on the ship's port-state control record.
Polaris is a major owner of VLOCs and capesize bulkers, with Vale as a significant customer. A source close to the company said it is planning to issue a statement on the incident later Thursday.
The Stellar Banner incident marks the biggest casualty for the Seoul company since the March 2017 sinking of the 266,000-dwt Stellar Daisy (built 1993). That incident led to the loss of 22 of 24 crew members.
This week, TradeWinds reported that Polaris Shipping chief executive Kim Wan-Jung received a six month suspended prison sentence and was slapped with a KRW 15m ($12,426) fine in relation to the casualty.
The Stellar Daisy incident led to scrutiny over the shipowner's fleet of older VLOCs that were converted from tankers.
The Stellar Banner, by contrast, is a modern vessel that was purpose built as an ore carrier.
Eric Martin contributed to this article.
