CERES I

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Tanker did not flee, but was adrift after collision

After the 'Ceres I' collided with the 'Hafnia Nile' on July 19, the anchor chain of the tanker on the starboard side was cut off and subsequently caused the vessel to drift, according to the Director General of Malaysia's Marine Department Capt Mohamad Halim Ahmed at a press conference on July 30. The comments made by Director General contradicted previous statements made by the Malaysian Coast Guard that the 'Ceres I' had disappeared and fled the scene to be intercepted in the early hours of 21 July being towed by two tugs. It was reported at the time that the Ceres I had turned off its AIS transponder, however Capt Halim stated that it had communication and navigational issues. The 'Ceres I' was found 20 nautical miles from the collision site near the resort island of Tioman. It was not clear what happened to the two tugs previously reported to be towing the VLCC and arrested by the coastguard. Both the 'Ceres I' and the 'Hafnia Nile' were anchored in Malaysian waters. Based on preliminary investigations, the 'Ceres I' was anchored at the time of the collision due to technical problems. The 'Ceres I' is alleged to be a part of the dark fleet that trades sanctioned cargoes and was last reported carrying a cargo of Iranian crude oil in March. The vessel is operated by the little-known company Shanghai Prosperity Management.

Ceres I was a "serial phony"

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.

Tanker taken to safe area

The 'Ceres I' has been towed to a safe area approximately 20 nautical miles east of Tanjung Sedili, north of the collision site near the eastern end of the Singapore Strait. The MMEA has been told by the captain of the tanker that the 26 crew members that had remained aboard the ship were safe. An additional 14 crew members along with all 22 crew from the heavily damaged 'ÄHafnia Nile' have been accommodated in Singapore. The 'Hafnia Nile', which was holed in the waterline at port side and suffered severe fire damage, was also to be towed to a similar location to facilitate the investigations. Salvage experts have started their surveys of the vessel after the fire was out. The ship was drifting, but was not a hazard to navigation. The vessel was secured with tugs, and a ship-to-ship transfer of the naphtha cargo was being planned. During the next phase of the operation, Malaysia’s Department of the Environment will be responsible for the environmental efforts. An overflight of the area had showed a small amount of oil. The 'Ceres I' appeared to be empty at the time of the incident.