Malaysia intercepts missing oil tanker from Singapore blaze

An oil tanker that left the site of a collision and fire east of Singapore has been intercepted off the coast of Malaysia in the early hours of Sunday, Malaysian maritime authorities said.

Ceres I, a crude oil tanker sailing under the flag of Sao Tome & Principe, and the Hafnia Nile, a Singapore-flagged refined-products tanker, crashed early on Friday (Jul 19) morning in one of the world’s busiest waterways, setting both ablaze. Ceres I appears to then have switched off its transponder for more than a day, according to Bloomberg ship-tracking data.

After being tracked by Malaysian authorities, Ceres I was intercepted 28 nautical miles off Tioman Island at 1.20 am local time on Sunday, pulled by two tug boats, the coast guard said in a statement. All three have been detained. 

An aerial survey detected some traces of a spill, but further checks and an investigation will follow.

Ceres I was built in 2001, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, meaning it’s still in use well beyond when most owners would consider scrapping a vessel. It was also sailing under an obscure flag, used by only 55 vessels out of a merchant fleet of tens of thousands of ships – both characteristics common to almost all dark fleet ships.

The vessel, a very large crude carrier or VLCC, hauled cargoes from Iran and Venezuela earlier this year and last year, according to data from market intelligence firm Kpler. 

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The exact cause of Friday’s crash remains unclear. BLOOMBERG