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UAE authorities dish out fines to owners involved in dangerous tanker prang

Authorities in the UAE have wasted little time in dishing out fines to two companies involved in a dangerous collision off Fujairah 10 days ago.

LNG carrier Aseem and VLCC tanker Shinyo Ocean were involved in a collision on March 25, which resulted in a huge gash on the crude tanker and the LNG carrier’s bow suffering a big dent too.

According to local reports, the 155,000 cu m Aseem hit the 281,400 dwt Shinyo Ocean, when it was on its way to Qatargas’ Ras Laffan terminal. Shinyo Ocean suffered a major breach on the hull while Aseem also suffered serious damage on its bow. The cargo tanks of both ships were empty when the incident happened and no injuries were reported.

The 2009-built Aseem is majority-owned by Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and is chartered to Petronet LNG, and the 2001-built Shinyo Ocean is owned by Greek owner Navios Maritime according to to VesselsValue.

Splash understands local authorities have fined both owners AED80,000 ($22,000) each, due to their speed before the collision which was over five knots, as required by the port policy when navigating near the anchorage.

Initial investigations show human error in relying on VHF in communicating between the two vessels before the accident.

Despite photos showing a very sizeable hole in its hull, the damage to the ageing Shinyo Ocean is thought to be repairable with sources telling Splash damage was limited to the ballast tank and one of the cargo tanks, with no pollution reported.

MarineTraffic shows both ships are still at Fujairah’s anchorage, likely awaiting an available repair berth.

 

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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