Sima Sapphire News

Oslo based MPC Container Ships ASA said it has reached a deal to acquire five feeder containerships presently managed and operated by Simatech Shipping & Forwarding L.L.C., Dubai for a total purchase price of $41.9 million in cash.    MPC said it will establish wholly-owned subsidiaries to take over the five vessels, which include Sima Pride (1,201 TEU, built 2004), Sima Perfect (1,221 TEU, built 2005), Sima Prestige (1,221 TEU, built 2005), Sima Sapphire (1,440 TEU, built 2006) and Sima Sadaf (1,440 TEU, built 2007).   Physical takeover is expected in the first half of 2018, lifting the MPC Container Ships fleet to 64 feeder units.   MPC Container Ships was formed in April 2017 and owns and operates a portfolio of containerships between 1,000 and 3,000 TEU.

Vietnamese authorities have concluded that a collision between a Singaporean container ship and a local fishing boat that killed eight people in September, 2013, was caused by the negligence of the ship’s second mate, reports Thanhnien News. After announcing its findings, the Vietnam Maritime Administration handed them over to police in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau, where the accident took place, for further investigation. On September 16, 2013, Sima Sapphire collided with the boat with 16 fishermen on board, which sank some 54 nautical miles off the coast of Vung Tau. The crew managed to rescue 8 of them but the others were lost.

The crew of Singaporean cargo ship 'Sima Sapphire' which collided a Vietnamese fishing vessel leaving 3 dead and 5 missing will be prosecuted since data from the ship's black box incriminates its crew, according to the Vietnam Government. The Sima Sapphire was on voyage to Malaysia from Ho Chi Minh City when it collided with a Vietnamese fishing vessel from the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, which was returning to shore with 16 persons onboard. The collision threw all 16 fishermen to the sea, of whom 8 were rescued by the Singaporean ship.