By Roslan Khasawneh and Seng Li Peng SINGAPORE, April 17 (Reuters) – Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) said it is investigating a collision between two tankers in Singapore waters on Tuesday that led to a leak of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from one of the ships.
An estimated 1,796 tonnes of butane gas leaked from the LPG tanker involved but this posed no danger to shipping and measures had been taken by the ship’s crew to stop the leak, MPA said in a statement.
“As liquefied butane has a high evaporation rate, MPA has assessed that any leaked butane would have been carried southward away from mainland Singapore, where most of it would have rapidly dissipated to below flammable levels within an hour and pose no risk to shipping,” it said.
The collision was between Singapore-registered LPG tanker Crystal Sunrise, chartered by Japanese firm Gyxis, and a westbound Greece-registered tanker, Astro Saturn, chartered by European trading house Trafigura, market and shipping sources said.
“We can confirm that the Astro Saturn is on TC (time charter) to Trafigura and is carrying fuel oil,” a Trafigura spokeswoman said, without elaborating.
According to data from Thomson Reuters Eikon, Crystal Sunrise is a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) with a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 54,070 tonnes carrying Middle Eastern origin LPG.
Astro Saturn is an Aframax with a DWT of 105,167 tonnes and is anchored at Tanjung Pelepas in Johor, Malaysia, but close to Singapore.
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According to MPA, the Crystal Sunrise was picking up her pilot near the designated western pilot boarding ground when the collision took place about one nautical mile south of Tuas Extension.
The vessel sustained damage to her ballast tank in the collision while Astro Saturn sustained damage to her port anchor and bow.
Both ships have been stabilised and no injuries were reported.
But eight staff from PSA Marine, a marine services provider, who were in the vicinity of the collision, were given medical check-ups as a precaution.
All of the crew have since been discharged, MPA said. (Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh and Seng Li Peng; Editing by Adrian Croft)
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