A suezmax tanker controlled by Piraeus-based NGM Energy was damaged in a collision off the Chinese port of Qingdao on Tuesday.

The Shandong Maritime Safety Administration said the 150,000-dwt A Symphony (built 2001) spilled part of its cargo of oil and had been ordered to anchor some distance from the port.

A 10 nautical mile (18.5 km) exclusion zone has been established around the tanker.

This photo by an unknown source that purportedly shows the collision damage to the A Symphony was being widely circulated by brokers in Singapore on Tuesday. Photo: Contributed

Goodwood Ship Management, the A Symphony’s Singapore-based technical managers, said the tanker was at anchor when it was struck by a vessel it described as bulker named Sea Justice.

Both IHS Markit and VesselsValue list a single ship under that name. The 35,200-dwt general cargo ship Sea Justice (built 2005), owned by Sea Stars Ships Management of China, is currently at anchor off Qingdao, according to MarineTraffic.

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“The force of the impact on the forward port side caused a breach in cargo tanks and ballast tanks, with a quantity of oil lost into the ocean. All of the crew have since been accounted for, and there are no injuries,” Goodwood said in a statement sent to TradeWinds.

“Immediately after the allision occurred, the master initiated emergency procedures on board, mobilising the vessel's oil spill response team and initiating an internal transfer to limit the loss of product.”

The A Symphony was laden with 1m barrels of oil and scheduled to arrive in Qingdao on Thursday, according to Kpler data.

Goodwood said local oil spill response experts have been activated and are deploying assets to contain the spilled oil and begin the clean-up operation.

“The port's closure due to zero visibility is hampering these efforts,” the company said.

Goodwood said the vessel's protection and indemnity insurance representatives — identified by IHS Markit and Kpler as the North P&I Club — and the Liberian flag authority have been notified of the incident.

“The A Symphony remains at anchor awaiting inspection from the relevant parties,” Goodwood said.

The collision comes at an inconvenient time for NGM Energy, which earlier in April sold the ship, together with identical sistership A Melody (built 2001), for almost $14.8m each to undisclosed Asian interests.

NGM said it was preparing a statement that it would release to the media later on Tuesday.