The first chief officer of a ship that was involved in a fatal collision off the southern island of Pulau Sebarok in 2017 has been awarded jail for being unqualified to handle the vessel.
What happened?
The The first chief officer, a Chinese national Ding Zongde was working onboard the vessel ‘JBB De Rong 19’ when it was involved in a fatal collision with a tanker causing the tanker to sink.
The chief officer was found guilty of ignoring directions given by the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA). The cargo vessel ended in the path of the Indonesia-registered Kartika Segara, a tanker that ploughed into the dredger, causing it to sink.
The resulting collision claimed the lives of five crew members of JBB De Rong 19.
Act of negligence
The First Chief officer was arrested and sentenced to jail for two years after pleading guilty for causing death of crew member by performing a rash act by ignoring the instructions.
The VTIS Central asked JBB De Rong 19 to take immediate action to avoid a collision. APP Kok told the court, “The accused then cut the vessel’s engines. Only when the accused realised that a collision was imminent did he put the vessel’s engine in full reverse. A few seconds later, Kartika Segara collided into the (right side) of JBB”.
The collision resulted in the dredger sinking into the Sea within few minutes and in the loss of lives.
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Source: The New Paper
