Singapore Coast News

Iran could quickly export millions of barrels of oil it is holding in storage if it reaches a deal with the United States on its nuclear program and has been moving oil into place to prepare for an eventual restart, four traders and industrial sources said.The U.S. and Iran began in mid-June their sixth round of indirect talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal that former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018. Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran’s energy sector, leading…

At about 2.53am on 19 April 2018, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) received a report that five persons had gone overboard from a boat, about 0.7 nautical mile northeast of Pedra Branca, the coordinates being Latitude 01˚ 20.5’N and Longitude 104˚ 24.5’E, within Singapore territorial waters. Personnel and assets from the Singapore Police Coast Guard (PCG) and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) were immediately deployed for search and rescue (SAR) operations. In addition, MPA has issued navigational broadcasts for ships to look for the missing person. Of the five, four were rescued by the PCG and the RSN. One person is still unaccounted for. The four who were rescued are Indonesians.

Two oil products tankers had collided off Singapore coast but the impact of the accident was not immediately clear, industry sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The tankers were identified as Crystal Sunrise, chartered by Japanese liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) firm Gyxis, and Astro Saturn chartered by European trading house Trafigura. "We can confirm that the Astro Saturn is on TC (time charter) to Trafigura and is carrying fuel oil," said it's spokeswoman without elaborating further. According to data from Thomson Reuters Eikon, Crystal Sunrise is a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) with a deadweight tonne (DWT) of 54,070 tonnes carrying Middle Eastern origin LPG.

A runaway container vessel which was involved in a hit and run accident with two other vessels was seized by the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) DM 7 Tanjung Sedili District in the waters of Tanjung Ramunia. The accident, which took place in the evening Feb 18 in Singapore Strait off Batu Ayam, Malaysia. Tankers TINA 7 and STRAITS 3 were anchored some 2.7 nm off the coast, when passing MV OLF hit them both, inflicting damages. The 40,000 dwt  MV OLF didn’t stop or contacted damaged ships, and sailed away. Vessel is en route from Hong Kong to India with 16 crew, comprising of Indian and Sri Lanka nationalities. The Olf was under way from Hong Kong to India at the time of the allision…

According to a May 26 report from Bloomberg, oil spilled from a tanker collision offshore Singapore fouled parts of a two-mile stretch of the city-state's coast. Officials have deployed oil dispersants, 15 boats, 120 personnel and 10,800 ft of containment booms. About 18,000 barrels of light crude oil spilled from the Malaysian-registered tanker MT Bunga Kelana 3 after it collided with the St. Vincent's and The Grenadines-registered bulk carrier MV Waily in the Singapore Strait. (Source: Bloomberg)

Pirate attacks worldwide surged 40 percent in 1999 as economic and political troubles in Indonesia spurred a dramatic increase in incidents in Southeast Asia. The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said in its annual report that the number of actual and attempted pirate raids increased to 285 last year from 202 in 1998. However, the number of seafarers killed fell to three last year from 78 in 1998. "This could be due to greater efforts by governments to combat piracy," the report said, citing the recent sentencing to death of 13 pirates in China. Indonesia accounted for 113 of the attacks, almost double its 1998 total of 60. "We believe it was due to the economic situation and political instability…