The Greek-flagged bulk carrier ‘Pireas’ collided with the Malaysian government vessel ‘Polaris’ in Singapore Territorial Waters, within Singapore Port Limits off Tuas, Saturday, according to data provided by MPA Singapore.
‘Pireas’ was en route from Singapore to its next port of call at Tanjung Pelepas, when the collision took place at 14.28 hrs.
After refueling at Singapore’s eastern bunkering anchorage south of Bedok, ‘Pireas’ declared to MPA that its next port of call was to be Tanjung Pelepas. At 1355 hrs, ‘Pireas’ entered Singapore Port Limits off Tuas. It then slowed down, changed direction and collided with Polaris.
Upon establishing contact with ‘Pireas’, MPA Port Operations Control Centre (POCC) instructed ‘Pireas’ to stay clear of the area. At this point, ‘Pireas’ reported that prior to contacting MPA POCC, it had collided with ‘Polaris’ and there was no damage to its vessel.
‘Pireas’ informed that the collision occurred when it was making a manoeuvre to get out of the area. As the collision incident was not considered a very serious marine casualty incident under the IMO Marine Casualty Investigation Code, the vessel was allowed to proceed with its journey to Tanjung Pelepas.
MPA launched investigations as the incident took place in Singapore Territorial Waters.
In addition to sending official notifications to both the Marine Department Malaysia and Greece’s Hellenic Bureau for Marine Casualties Investigation to inform them about the incident, MPA is also gathering and reviewing information such as the vessel records and video footage of the collision and has requested a formal incident report from both vessels. MPA has also contacted Pireas’ agent in Singapore to assist in the investigations.
There are no reported injuries or oil leakage as a result of the incident.
We advise the shipping community to ensure that vessels operating within Singapore Port Limits comply with the applicable regulations, including reporting their movements and to anchor only within designated anchorages. MPA is deeply concerned that the presence of the unauthorised vessels in our port limits can cause confusion for the international shipping community and threaten navigational safety in our waters.
