A tanker involved in a collision near Singapore last week has entered the area of Malaysia’s Bertam floating oil terminal after being intercepted by local authorities. The Sao Tome and Principe-flagged supertanker, Ceres I, left the scene of a fiery collision with the Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile on Friday.
On Sunday, the Malaysian coast guard found the Ceres I in local waters, being towed by two tugboats. Following this, both the Ceres I and the tugboats were detained for further investigation.
The Bertam floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) terminal is located in the South China Sea off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The Ceres I, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), has a capacity of around 2 million barrels of oil; however, AIS data indicates that it is currently empty.
Historically, the Ceres I has loaded crude and fuel oil from Iran and Venezuela through ship-to-ship transfers between 2019 and March 2024. The vessel is managed by Shanghai Prosperity Ship Management, which has not yet commented on the incident.
Separately, Hafnia, the manager of the Hafnia Nile, reported ongoing discussions with Malaysian authorities regarding the safe movement of their tanker. The Hafnia Nile, a Panamax tanker with a capacity of 74,000 deadweight tons, was carrying approximately 300,000 barrels of naphtha for Japan, a key raw material for petrochemicals.
The waters around Singapore are among the busiest global sea lanes and serve as Asia’s largest oil-trading hub and the world’s largest bunkering port. Following the collision, the Malaysian coast guard conducted aerial surveys and found minor traces of an oil spill at the site of the incident, approximately 55 km (35 miles) northeast of Pedra Branca island. The environment department has been notified and will carry out further monitoring.