Malta flagged super-tanker in collision off Singapore
A Malta-registered super-tanker collided with a container ship in the Strait of Singapore, causing an oil spill near the world’s second busiest container port.
Singapore's maritime authority is investigating a mid-sea collision involving a Malta-flagged super-tanker
About five metric tons of marine fuel oil leaked from the Kota Tenaga, a Singapore-flagged vessel, after it made contact with the SEEB, considered to be a very large crude carrier, around 2.7 kilometers (1.7 miles) South of Pulau Sebarok island, the Maritime and Port Authority said in a statement.
The incident was reported at 9 p.m. local time, it said.
"Traffic in the port and the Strait of Singapore remains unaffected," the port authority said.
"An oil boom was laid around the vessel as a precaution. There is no report of injury to crew members."
The container ship was built in 2002 and owned by Pacific International Lines Pte, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The very large crude carrier, capable of hauling two million barrels, is owned by Oman Shipping Co. and was built last year.
The spill is small compared with a 2,500-ton slick in the Singapore Strait in May 2010, when the MT Bunga Kelana 3 crude tanker collided with the MV Waily bulk carrier. That leak was enough to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Singapore's worst oil spill was in October 1997 when the Cyprus-flagged Evoikos collided with the Thai-registered Orapin Global.
