A crude oil tanker and one of the world’s largest containerships collided early Tuesday, December 3, in the Strait of Gibraltar.
The accident involved the crude oil tanker Gloria Maris, carrying 25 crew members, and the containership HMM ST Petersburg with 24 crew members aboard.
“After the ships had been inspected by the crews, damage was observed to the lateral structures, but there was no danger of sinking or spilling,” reported Salvamento Maritimo, Spain’s maritime rescue service. The incident prompted an immediate response from Spanish maritime rescue services, with vessels Luz de Mar and Salvamar Denébola dispatched to the scene.
De madrugada, colisión entre el buque tanque Gloria Maris, 25 tripulantes, y el portacontenedores HMM ST Petersburg, 24 tripulantes, en las proximidades de la bahía de #Algeciras. Se moviliza el buque Luz de Mar y la Salvamar Denébola. No hay heridos.
— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob) December 3, 2024
El HMM ST Petersburg… pic.twitter.com/PuatFzFWcc
The collision occurred approximately 8.9 miles southeast of Algeciras. The Gloria Maris initiated an alert to the Rescue Coordination Centre (CCS) in Tarifa at 5:20 a.m. The tanker was traveling in ballast, having recently discharged 147,564 tonnes of crude oil at the port of Cartagena.
The HMM St. Petersburg operates on the FE4 service route between North China and North Europe. The containership, delivered in 2020 as the final vessel in a series of 12 sister ships for South Korea’s HMM, spans nearly 400 meters in length with a capacity of 24,000 TEUs, making it one of the world’s largest containerships.
The Gloria Maris, flying the Liberian flag, is a suezmax crude oil tanker with a capacity of 156,620 dwt.
The Maritime Authority of Algeciras has ordered both vessels to be detained pending thorough safety inspections to determine the cause of the collision and verify their seaworthiness. As of Wednesday, December 4, both vessels were reported to be safely moored in the Bay of Algeciras/Gibraltar.
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