Salvage experts have boarded a Hafnia tanker hit by fire after a collision with a VLCC in the South China Sea on Friday.
A towing connection has been established with one of the attending tugs, Hafnia said, having previously noted its vessel had been drifting further to open sea.
Initial assessments from the team suggested the fire was no longer burning on board the 74,200-dwt Hafnia Nile (built 2017), according to a statement from the shipowner on Saturday.
BW-backed Hafnia said the salvage team saw no visible flames after boarding the vessel and a marine chemist was due on the ship later to further assess the situation.
The Hafnia Nile was loaded with a cargo of naphtha when it collided with the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged 300,000-dwt Ceres I (built 2001). The VLCC was believed to be unladen at the time.
“Pollution levels around the vessel are still undetermined,” Hafnia said on Saturday.
“Currently, discussions are underway with Malaysian authorities to safely move the vessel as well as cooperation with Singapore as the flag state on investigations.”
Gard is the insurer of the Hafnia Nile and the Norwegian protection and indemnity club said on Friday it had been unable to connect with an insurer of the VLCC, controlled by Shanghai Prosperity Ship Management.
The Ceres I has a history of trading Iranian and Russian cargo and has spent almost the entirety of the last year in the waters around Singapore and Malaysia, AIS data shows.
The area has reportedly been the site of several ship-to-ship transfers of sanctions-prohibited oil cargoes and prompted US officials to visit both countries last month in hopes of clamping down on the trades.
Hafnia did not provide any information on the present condition of the Ceres I.
All 22 crew members on board the Hafnia Nile at the time of the incident have now arrived in Singapore and are in company-arranged accommodation.
“As a standard procedure, the Singapore authorities have been conducting interviews with the seafarers,” Hafnia added.
In an earlier update, Hafnia said the crew had received medical and psychological care in the Lion City and had established communication lines with their families.
“The exact circumstances leading to the incident are yet unknown. Hafnia is presently working with all relevant authorities,” it said.
“A thorough investigation to determine the root cause is underway.”
S&P Global’s International Ships Register lists the Ceres I as being owned by Hong Kong-registered single-ship entity Ceres Shipping and managed and operated by Shanghai Prosperity Ship Management since 2019.
The data provider lists the tanker's class society as being unknown since it left the Korean Register in 2020 and its P&I provider is also listed as unknown.
Pressure group United Against Nuclear Iran has previously accused the VLCC of carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil.
