Hafnia Nile Naphtha Offloading Underway After Collision with Ceres I in Malaysia

The offloading of the naphtha cargo from the Hafnia Nile, which collided with the VLCC Ceres I in Malaysian waters five weeks ago, is currently underway. Malaysian authorities are leading the investigation into the incident, with Singapore monitoring as the flag state of the product tanker. According to S&P Global, a portion of the cargo owned by Cespa and bound for Japan survived the accident. The offloading process is expected to be completed in the next few days with the support of Malaysian authorities.

The collision occurred near the eastern side of the Singapore Strait, where the Hafnia Nile made contact with the VLCC Ceres I. Investigators are looking into whether it was an allision, with the Hafnia Nile allegedly striking the anchored Ceres I. Both vessels caught fire, leading to the abandonment of the Hafnia Nile by its crew. Some crew members from the Ceres I also left the vessel, while others stayed to help extinguish the fires. The Hafnia vessel sustained significant damage, but pollution was limited.

The Ceres I was reported missing the day after the collision and was later found east of the Malaysian peninsular. The vessel, linked to the Iranian oil trade, was initially suspected of fleeing but was later believed to have drifted due to power loss. Reports suggest the vessel was involved in illicit ship-to-ship transfers and had a history of falsifying its AIS signal. Ownership details remain unclear, with the vessel likely registered to a shell company in Hong Kong that has not provided statements since the incident. After offloading, the Hafnia Nile is expected to proceed to a shipyard for repairs.

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