On April 17, two tankers collide off the coast of Singapore resulting in a liquefied butane gas leak.
What happened?
A Singapore-flagged LPG tanker ‘Crystal Sunrise’ was scheduled to pick up a pilot at a designated pilot boarding ground when it collided with a Greece flagged tanker ‘Astro Saturn’.
According to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the collision occurred off the south of Tuas Extension in Singapore waters and caused a liquefied butane gas leak.
Vessel damaged, leakage of gas
The LPG tanker suffered damages to its ballast tank, causing its butane cargo to start leaking from one of the cargo tanks, while the Astro Saturn sustained damage to its port anchor and bow. An estimated 1,796 metric tonnes of butane gas was leaked into the waters.
Fortunately, no one was injured during the collision and eight PSA Marine staff who were in the vicinity of the collision received medical check-ups at the National University Hospital, and were discharged.
No risk to the environment
The MPA released a statement, “Leaked butane, which has a high evaporation rate, would have been carried southward away from mainland Singapore, where most of it would have rapidly dissipated to below flammable levels within an hour and pose no risk to shipping”.
An investigation has been launched into the incident to determine the sequence of attacks leading to collision.
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Source: Channel News Asia
