Two Foreign Ships Collided in Qingdao Sea Area, Which Was Caused by the Negligence of the Crew in the Fog After Preliminary Analysis

Shandong Maritime Safety Administration reported on May 3 that the Panamanian general cargo ship "SEA JUSTICE" collided with the Liberian anchored oil tanker "A SYMPHONY" in the southeast sea area of Chaolian Island, Qingdao, Shandong Province. The collision caused damage to a cargo hold of the oil tanker, causing about 400 tons of oil spill into the sea. Since the accident, the headquarters has continuously coordinated relevant forces to carry out emergency disposal and oil spill removal.

More than 20 professional skimming vessels and some fishing boats have been dispatched to participate in the oil clean-up in the incident sea area, and the effect is obvious. At the same time, two oil tankers were dispatched to barge the cargo of Symphony at sea. As of 12: 00 on May 3, over 50,000 tons of cargo had been barged.

At present, the emergency response work is continuing, and the accident investigation work has been carried out in an all-round way. The preliminary analysis shows that this collision was caused by the negligence of the crew on duty in the fog.

According to the news of China Maritime Safety Administration on April 27th, Qingdao MSA issued a navigation warning: oil spill occurred at 35-44.0N/120-58.4E of the Yellow Sea, and vessels are prohibited to sail within 10 nautical miles of waters from the center of incident. Please drive carefully and avoid passing ships.

It is reported that the oil spill accident was caused by the collision between an incoming cargo ship and a Suezmax tanker moored outside the port. Now, details of the accident are not clear, but the relevant departments reported that the accident did not cause any injuries and measures have been taken to contain the oil spill. Meanwhile, relevant departments stipulate that ships sailing to the nearby waters should be at least 10 nautical miles away from the accident site.

According to the tanker operator's report, the tanker "A SYMPHONY" was moored outside the port, and at about 9 am on April 27th, the tanker was hit by an incoming freighter. Report from port authorities shows that the foggy weather has been affecting the navigation of ships since Monday. The tanker operator also told Reuters that the visibility in the sea area at the time of the accident was very low.