Fratelli d’Amico tanker collides with coastal vessel in the Straits of Malacca

A vessel owned by Italy’s Fratelli d’Amico was involved in an accident in the Straits of Malacca yesterday.

Aframax oil tanker Mare Tirrenum collided with coastal freighter Ayu Lestari around five nautical miles east of Pulau Rupat Island, causing the freighter to capsize.

The Rome-based shipping company released a statement explaining that “at the time of the incident the Mare Tirrenum was on ballast passage from Singapore and was approaching the pilot station of her next loading port, Dumai in Indonesia. As a result of the collision, the towing vessel sank and two of its crew were rescued from the sea by the pilot boat. It was reported that two further crew members from the towing vessel were missing. The master of the Mare Tirrenum immediately broadcast man overboard signals to passing vessels in the hope that the missing crew members could be found.”

Search and rescue operations are ongoing headed by the local Navy, while Fratelli d’Amico Armatori’s vessel has now proceeded to Dumai.

“There was no pollution and no injuries to crew members of the Mare Tirrenum. The company and the crew members of our tanker are co-operating fully with the local investigation into this incident” concluded the statement.