Singapore Manages Response to Two Sinkings in One Weekend
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On Sunday, Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority rescued eight crewmembers from a sinking tanker just off Pedra Branca, a lighthouse installation at the eastern entrance to the Singapore Strait – the second sinking in two days in the Singaporean search and rescue zone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At about 1540 hours, the master of the small product tanker Silver Sincere<\/em> reported that the vessel was taking on water and that the crew was abandoning ship. All crewmembers safely evacuated into a liferaft, and they were saved by a good Samaritan freighter, the Intan Daya 368.\u00a0<\/em>All survivors were in good health when delivered to shore at Batu Ampar, Indonesia.\u00a0<\/p>\n With search and rescue complete, the MPA has transitioned to a pollution-control response for the Silver Sincere<\/em>. Salvage tugs and a spill-abatement vessel have been activated and dispatched to the scene; as of yet, no oil pollution has been reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n So far, the busy traffic lanes of the Singapore Strait have not been affected, but the MPA is broadcasting a safety advisory to shipping to stay clear of the wreck site.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just one day earlier, a good Samaritan ship rescued the crew of a sinking Vietnamese freighter in the South China Sea, off the coast of peninsular Malaysia but within Singapore’s vast search and rescue zone. The yard-and-stay freighter Dolphin 18<\/em> sent a distress call on Saturday morning and reported that they were going down. The call was received by the 2,200 TEU container feeder Nicolai Maersk<\/em>, which reported it to the Singapore MPA Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) at about 0700 hours. Nikolai Maersk<\/em> safely rescued 18 crewmembers from their liferafts, and all were in good health. Dolphin 18<\/em> was reported sunk. \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \t
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