Two bodies have been recovered from the waters off Singapore following Wednesday’s collision between a dredger and a tanker.
They were among five men missing from the dredger JBB De Rong 19 following the incident. The search for the remaining three men continues.
It has also emerged that both vessels were warned by Singapore’s Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) to take preventive actions to avoid a collision.
The incident took place in the westbound lane of the traffic separation scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait about 1.7 nautical miles south-west of Sisters Island.
The dredger was transiting the westbound lane while the 30,747-dwt Karitike Segara (built 1998) was departing Singapore joining the eastbound lane of the TSSA.
“While the vessels acknowledged the information provided by the Singapore VTIS, the collision was not averted,” Singapore’s Maritime Port Authority (MPA) said in a statement.
The tanker reported damage to her starboard bow, but is stable and anchored at the Eastern Anchorage. Its 26 Indonesian crew did not sustain any injuries.
The MPA continues to lead the search and rescue (SAR) operations with support from relevant Singapore agencies with about 200 people involved in the operation.
Singapore has notified the Indonesian Rescue Coordination Centre about the incident and they have deployed five vessels to assist with SAR in Indonesian territorial waters.
“MPA expresses our deepest condolences to the families of the two deceased and wish those injured a speedy recovery,” said MPA chief executive Andrew Tan.
“We will continue with our search and rescue efforts to find the remaining three missing crew members.”
Meanwhile, five of the seven men rescued from the capsized dredger have been discharged from Singapore General Hospital.
