The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was notified early this morning of a collision between two vessels about 1.7 nautical miles off Sisters Island, with five crew remaining unaccounted for from the incident.
Indonesian-registered tanker Kartika Segara and Dominican-registered dredger JBB De Rong 19 collided in Singapore territorial waters at about 12:40am today, causing the latter to capsize and become partially submerged. Twelve crew members — 11 Chinese nationals and one Malaysian — were onboard the dredger at the time. Seven Chinese citizens were rescued promptly by the Singapore Police Coast Guard and are currently receiving treatment at the Singapore General Hospital.
The remaining five members of the crew, however, are missing. MPA has launched search and rescue operations involving 10 vessels with the help of the Republic of Singapore Navy, Singapore Civil Defence Force and the Police Coast Guard. Meanwhile, the Republic of Singapore Air Force deployed a Super Puma helicopter for an aerial search at 7am.
As for the tanker, there was some damage to its starboard bow, but it’s reportedly stable and anchored at the Eastern Anchorage. Its 26 crew members from Indonesia did not sustain any injuries.
The partially submerged dredger was moved safely to an area near Pulau Sepang for underwater search operations.
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