HAFNIA NILE

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Offloading underway

The offloading of the naphtha cargo iof the 'Hafnia Nile' was underway. The investigation into the incident also continued being led by Malaysian authorities and monitored by Singapore as the flag state of the product tanker. A portion of the cargo which was owned by Cespa and bound for Japan was recoverable. The offloading was to be completed in the next few days with the support of the Malaysian authorities. An unnamed tanker has been positioned to receive the naphtha. The 'Hafnia Nile' was underway near the eastern side of the Singapore Strait when it made contact with the tanker 'Ceres I '. It was expected that the 'Hafnia Nile', after having completed the offloading, would be permitted to proceed to a shipyard for repairs. investigators continued to explore it as an allision in which the 'Hafnia Nile' struck the 'Ceres I', which was believed to be at anchor. Among the points to be investigated, however, was if the vessel was broadcasting an accurate AIS signal and was at anchor as alleged. The vessel was linked to the operations hiding Iranian oil and it was in a known area used for illicit ship-to-ship transfers. The vessel is also reported to have a history of falsifying its AIS signal location and going dark. The ownership also remained clouded with it being registered likely to a shell company in Hong Kong that has not provided statements since the incident.

Tankers still being secured

Ahead of investigating various allegations against the 'Ceres I', the priority was still the safety of the ships. The priority was to keep the tankers afloat, especially the 'Hafnia Nile'. The Malaysian authorities were working with the Singapore authorities on this issue. The initial investigation has not detected any oil spill, only a layer of oil suspected to have been caused by the 'Hafnia Nile'. The salvors have placed an oil containment barrier around the 'Hafnia Nile' to control the situation. There was no reported oil spill from the 'Ceres I'. The 22 crew members of the 'Hafnia Nile' were rescued by the RSS 'Supreme' of the Republic of Singapore Navy. The crew of the 'Ceres I' were still on board the vessel, which was unladen and headed to Langshan. In the aftermath of the collision, the 'Ceres I' was identified as a "serial phony", ships that deliberately manipulate AIS data to disguise their actual location. The 'Ceres I' also discharged Iranian heavy crude into waters off the U.S. East Coast around June, in an area known for storage and ship-to-ship transfers of sanctioned Iranian, Venezuelan and Russian oil bound for China.

Discussions about transfer to safe location

Hafnia, the operator of the 'Hafnia Nile', is currently in discussions with Singapore’s Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) to safely transfer the vessel’s naphtha cargo to a safe location, according to a statement provided by the MPA on July 24. The tanker,chartered by Spanish energy company Cepsa, was transporting approximately 300,000 barrels of naphtha, a raw material for petrochemicals acquired by Japanese refiner Eneos. A team of experts was inspecting the damaged portions of the tanker, which remained connected to tugs in Malaysian waters. Initial inspections found engine room damage on the vessel and a light oil sheen leaking from the affected area.