Japanese-owned tanker and Singapore container ship identified as vessels in collision leading to palm oil spill

A Japanese-owned chemical tanker registered in Panama and a Singaporean container ship have been identified as the two vessels involved in a collision in mainland Chinese waters that led to the recent palm oil spill that has inundated Hong Kong’s beaches with globs of stearin.

Singapore-based Pacific International Lines (PIL) confirmedto the Post on Monday that its ship, the Kota Ganteng, had collided with Global Marine Service’s (GMS) Global Apollon at about 5am on August 3, just a few kilometres southwest of Hong Kong as it was en route to the port of Nansha at the mouth of the Pearl River Estuary.

The Global Apollon, which was heading east at the time from Guangzhou’s Xinsha Port, was bound for Wenzhou and Shanghai and was carrying 9,000 tonnes of raw palm oil stearin.

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The Apollon’s registered owner is Alavanca Incorporated, a Panamanian affiliate of Japan’s Global Marine Service. Built in 2015, the 141-metre oil-chemical tanker has a gross tonnage of 10,754 and a cargo capacity of 18,754 litres.

“The bow of the Kota Ganteng made contact [with the] starboard side of the Global Apollon in way of her No 6 starboard tank, which contained about 1,000 tonnes of refined blended and deodorised palm stearin,” a PIL spokesman said. “As a result, both vessels sustained damage but there was no injury to any crew on board.”

Both vessels exchanged information and the Kota Ganteng headed to Nansha to discharge and load her cargo. After dealing with the Chinese maritime authorities, the Kota Ganteng was cleared to leave for Singapore on August 6, PIL said. The 226-metre Kota Ganteng has a gross tonnage of 28,676.

According to the ships’ automatic identification systems, the Global Apollon is now anchored off Guishan near Zhuhai.