Search Continues Missing Ship Carrying Indonesia Nickel Ore

File photo of the MV Nur Allya. Photo courtesy MarineTraffic.com/husni

The search is continuing off the coast of Indonesia for the missing bulker carrier Nur Allya and its 25 crew members more than a week after its disappearance.

According to reports, the 52,000 DWT Nur Allya was loaded with Indonesia nickel ore when it went missing on August 20 off the northern coast of Buru Island.

The search is being coordinate by the Ambon SAR Office and involves multiple sea and air assets.

So far, there has been no sign of the missing vessel or its crew.

The last known location of the Nur Allya was reported to be approximately 44 nautical miles from Namlea, Indonesia, located off the north-east coast of the island of Buru.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation said the ship was underway from the Sepo Port area on the Indonesia island of Halmahera to the Port of Morose in southwest Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Nickel ore has earned the reputation of being perhaps the world’s deadliest cargo because its liquefaction properties, especially when exposed to wet conditions. Cargo liquefaction can result in a vessel to lose stability and even capsize at a moment’s notice.

According to trade group INTERCARGO, cargo failure (i.e. liquefaction) was to blame for nine dry bulk vessel casualties from 2012 to 2018, resulting in the loss 101 lives. Among those, six involved bulk carriers carrying nickel ore from Indonesia.

The 189-meter Nur Allya is owned PT Gurita Lintas Samudra and was built in 2002.

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