S’pore coordinates rescue when M’sia-flagged tanker sinks off Pedra Branca, all 8 crew members rescued

MPA directs ship to render assistance to Malaysia-flagged tanker off Pedra Branca

The Singapore authorities have had to coordinate another rescue on consecutive days after a Malaysia-registered tanker sank in Singapore waters.

In a media release on Sunday (12 Jan), the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the Silver Sincere sank off Pedra Branca that afternoon.

Malaysia-flagged tanker off Pedra Branca sends distress call

MPA said it received a distress call at about 3.40pm on 12 Jan.

It was from the Silver Sincere, which reported that it was taking in water.

The tanker has since sunk in Singapore territorial waters off Pedra Branca, MPA added.

Before it sunk, the master of the vessel evacuated all crew members.

MPA directs another ship to render assistance

After receiving the distress call, MPA took action by deploying its craft and those from the Republic of Singapore Navy and Singapore Police Coast Guard as part of search and rescue efforts.

MPA also directed an Indonesia-registered freighter, Intan Daya 368, to render assistance.

All eight crew were subsequently safely recovered from the vessel’s liferafts.

They are in healthy condition and will disembark at Batu Ampar, Indonesia.

The search and rescue phase coordinated by MPA is now completed, MPA said.

MPA recovering vessel & broadcasting safety advisory

What remains is to recover the vessel.

MPA has activated salvage tugs to do this, as well as oil spill response craft as a precaution.

The authority is also sending a broadcast to passing vessels, advising them to stay clear of the incident site.

Navigational traffic in the Singapore Strait is not affected, MPA said.

MPA coordinated rescue of another ship 1 day before

Just one day before the incident, MPA was involved when when Vietnam-registered ship sank on 11 Jan southwest of Vung Tau, Vietnam, within the Singapore Maritime Search and Rescue Region.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), operated by the MPA, coordinated the search and rescue by issuing navigational broadcasts for vessels to keep a lookout for the ship and alerting its Vietnamese counterparts of the incident.

All 18 crew members were rescued by Hong Kong-registered container vessel Nicolai Maersk.

Also read: S’pore coordinates rescue effort when Vietnam-flagged ship sinks, all 18 crew members rescued

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