Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Environmental Impact from Maritime Accident Involving Singapore-Flagged Tanker Hafnia Nile

Mr Desmond Choo asked the Minister for Transport 

a.     what are the facts relating to the maritime accident involving the Singapore-flagged tanker Hafnia Nile on 19 July 2024; and 

b.     whether there has been any environmental impact due to the accident.

Reply by Minister for Transport Chee Hong Tat:

1.     On 19 July 2024 at about 6.15am, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) was alerted to a fire onboard both HAFNIA NILE, a Singapore-flagged tanker, and CERES I, a São Tomé and Príncipe-flagged tanker, about 55km northeast of Pedra Branca within Singapore’s Maritime Search and Rescue Region. MPA was the coordinator for the search and rescue operations. MPA put out two media statements on 19 July 2024 and an additional media statement on 24 Jul 2024 on the incident. The member may wish to refer to the media statements on the MPA website for the details of the incident.

2.     Navigational traffic in the vicinity of the incident was not affected. The owner of HAFNIA NILE informed MPA on 23 July of light oil sheens near the vessel. The owner has undertaken measures for containment and clean-up of the localised seepage, such as deploying an oil boom around the damaged area of the vessel. To date, we have not detected oil pollution arising from the incident to the coastline of Singapore.