The Singapore-flagged LPG tanker ‘Crystal Sunrise’ collided with the Greece-registered tanker ‘Astro Saturn’, in the morning hours of 17 April, about one nautical mile south of Tuas Extension, in Singapore territorial waters.
At about 2.30am, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) received a report of the incident from the LPG tanker.
Crystal Sunrise was picking up her pilot near the designated western pilot boarding ground, when the collision occurred. As a result from the incident, the LPG tanker sustained damage to her ballast tank.
In addition, the master reported that the butane that vessel was carrying had started to leak from one of the cargo tanks. The ship’s crew took the necessary measures and stopped the leak. MPA Singapore informed:
An estimated 1,796MT of butane gas had leaked. As liquefied butane has a high evaporation rate, MPA has assessed that any leaked butane would have been carried southward away from mainland Singapore, where most of it would have rapidly dissipated to below flammable levels within an hour and pose no risk to shipping.
Astro Saturn also sustained damages to her port anchor and bow. Both ships have been stabilised.
The two tankers reported no injuries to their crew. As a precautionary measure, eight PSA Marine staff who were in the vicinity of the collision received medical check-ups at the National University Hospital. All of the crew have since been discharged.
MPA has launched an investigation to determine the exact causes of the collision.
