South Korean flagship carrier HMM said that its 24,000 TEU ship, HMM St Petersburg, is operationally sound after colliding with an oil tanker near Algeciras port in Spain on 3 December.
S&P Global’s vessel-tracking data shows that sometime around 3.47 am (UK time) on 3 December, the 2020-built HMM St Petersburg was crossing Gibraltar on its way to Algeciras. The ship serves the Far East-Europe lane and is scheduled to call at Rotterdam on 7 December.
At 5.01 am, HMM St Petersburg was reportedly drifting, a position it maintained for nearly five hours.
The 156,620 dwt Suezmax oil tanker Gloria Maris, owned by Greece’s Nicholas G Moundreas Shipping, had been bunkered in Gibraltar in the evening of 2 December and was on its way to Cartagena, Spain, when it allegedly collided with HMM St Petersburg. The impact reportedly caused a hole in Gloria Maris’ hull.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Spanish sea search and rescue agency Sociedad de Salvamento y Seguridad Maritima (commonly known as Salvamento Maritima) said that the accident happened 8.9 miles southeast of Algeciras.
The agency said Gloria Mari’s’ crew had alerted the rescue Corvette in Tarifa to the accident.
Salvamento Maritima said: “After the ships were inspected by their crews, damage to the lateral structures was observed, but there was no danger of sinking or oil spilling.” The agency noted Gloria Maris had left Cartagena on 30 November after discharging 147,564 tonnes of crude oil and ballasted to Gibraltar.
At the time of writing, HMM St Petersburg and Gloria Maris remain detained in Algeciras.
HMM’s spokesperson told Container News: “There’re no reported injuries and no spillage or leak of bunker fuel. The local port authorities are currently investigating the cause of the collision. HMM St Petersburg is capable of operation and will resume its voyage as soon as the investigation concludes.”
Alison Koo
Asia Correspondent
