Boxships Collide in Port Klang, Malaysia
The container ships MOL Empire and Northern Democrat collided at around 1430 LT Aug 1 in Westport harbor at Port Klang, Malaysia, reportedly while mooring.
Container or containers fell overboard, also port crane was damaged. It is understood, that both vessels suffered slight damages.
The reason for the accident was higher speed and strong wind, which caused drifting of the container carrier MOL Empire over the already berthed Northern Democrat, which was performing cargo handling operations at same time.
The both vessels were detained for inspection and until further investigation.
A Westport Malaysia said in a statement that the cargo vessel has since been safely moved to the pilot station. It added that the area where the incident happened had been cordoned off pending further investigations.
“The three boxes are currently being lifted from the water. We are still studying the estimated cost of the damage. No casualties have been reported,” it said.
About the Vessels:
- Container ship MOL Empire, IMO 9407160, dwt 67000, capacity 5041TEU, built 2010, flag HK, The deadweight of the vessel is 67,000 DWT and the gross tonnage is 54,940 GRT. The ship was built in 2010 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in their shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
- Container ship Northern Democrat, IMO 9391787, dwt 41986, capacity 3534 TEU, built 2009, flag Liberia, manager NORDDEUTSCHE REEDEREI SCHULDT, Germany. The deadweight of the vessel is 41,986 DWT and the gross tonnage is 36,007 GRT. The ship is owned by Norddeutsche Reederei and built in 2009 by Shanghai Shipyard.