December 5 ------ Spanish authorities are detaining an HMM containership and a Greek-managed crude tanker after the vessels collided off the port of Algeciras early this morning, December 3. Both vessels remained seaworthy and the authorities are reporting no injuries or pollution at this time. There are 24 crewmembers on the containership and 25 on the tanker.
One of the largest containerships in the world, the HMM St. Petersburg (229,000 dwt) was inbound to Europe after a six-week trip from Yantian, China diverting around Africa and skipping a scheduled port call in Colombo, Sri Lanka. There is no information about the load aboard the vessel which was built in 2020 as one of the HMM’s new largest class of containerships but it has a rated capacity of 23,964 TEU. The ship is registered in South Korea. The crude oil tanker Gloria Maris (156,620 dwt) registered in Liberia was outbound from Cartagena, Spain where it had departed on November 30. It had offloaded a cargo of 147,564 tons of crude and was in ballast awaiting its next assignment.
Spain’s Salvamento Maritime reports it was notified of the collision by the tanker at approximately 0520 this morning. The two vessels were approximately 8.9 miles southeast of Algeciras. It dispatched two patrol boats to assess the situation.
An initial inspection is reported to show structural damage to both vessels. Images show the bow of the tanker crushed. Pictures online appear to show a dent in the starboard side of the HMM containership amidship near the deckhouse and bridge. After determining there was no immediate danger, the Captain of the Port of Algeciras permitted the HMM containership to proceed to its berth in the port. The tanker was ordered to wait in the anchorage. The Port Captain is leading the initial investigation to clarify the cause of the incident. Further safety checks have also been ordered before the vessels will be permitted to depart Algeciras.
Source: maritime-executive.com
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