Crew Members Of Dredger Found Guilty In Singapore’s Worst Oil Spill In A Decade

Four Dutch crew members aboard the Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima pleaded guilty on March 12 in a Singapore court for failing to properly perform their duties, leading to a major oil spill in June 2024.

The incident occurred at Pasir Panjang Terminal and was recorded as the worst oil spill Singapore has seen in a decade.

On June 14, 2024, the 43,400 dwt Vox Maxima lost propulsion and steering while moving from the Western Anchorage to ST Engineering Marine’s Tuas shipyard.

This led to a collision with the Singapore-flagged bunker tanker Marine Honour (9,000 dwt), which was docked at the terminal and supplying fuel to another vessel.

The impact caused one of Marine Honour’s tanks to rupture, releasing approximately 400 tonnes of fuel oil into Singapore’s waters. The oil spill spread to sensitive coastal areas, including Labrador, East Coast Park, Sentosa, Nature Reserve, and the Southern Islands.

Some oil even reached the Johor coastline in Kota Tinggi, Malaysia. Cleanup efforts took more than two months, and authorities are still assessing the full environmental impact.

The four crew members charged under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 are:

Richard Ouwehand, aged 49- Master of Vox Maxima
Martin Hans Sinke, aged 48- Chief Officer, responsible for navigation
Eric Peijpers, aged 56- Second Engineer
Merijn Heidema, aged 26- Third Engineer

Each officer admitted to failing to properly carry out their duties, contributing to the vessel’s loss of control and subsequent collision.

Court proceedings revealed that maintenance work was carried out on the Vox Maxima on the morning of June 14 while it was anchored.

Engineers on duty at the time opened a circuit breaker on the high-voltage switchboard to allow maintenance on a step-down transformer on the starboard side.

However, after the work was completed, the circuit breaker was left open, cutting power to some of the vessel’s systems.

At noon, Peijpers and Heidema took over the engineering watch. They were informed that the vessel needed to be ready to sail by 1:30 p.m. and began switching power from the auxiliary generator to the main generators.

However, they failed to check the circuit breaker, which remained open, leaving the ship reliant on a single generator from the port side. At 2:05 p.m., as the vessel got underway, its two hydraulic pumps which were powered by the low-voltage switchboards, were started.

When the second pump activated, it overloaded the circuit breaker on the port side, causing a complete shutdown of power to low-voltage systems. This resulted in a loss of propulsion and steering.

At around 2:14 p.m., the drifting Vox Maxima nearly collided with the 15,000 dwt product tanker Super Hero, which managed to alter speed and course just in time to avoid an accident.

However, the dredger then struck Marine Honour, causing major structural damage.

The bunker tanker sufferred damage to at least six ballast tanks, ten cargo oil tanks, and a slop tank. Marine Honour remains under repair, with costs estimated between $5 million and $6.6 million USD.

Prosecutors argued that Ouwehand and Sinke failed to engage emergency steering when the vessel lost control. They recommended fines of $15,000 to $22,500 USD for both officers and $30,000 to $37,500 USD for the engineers.

Under Singaporean law, each crew member faces a maximum penalty of two years in jail and fines up to $50,000 USD. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 2, 2025.

References: channelnewsasia, straitstimes

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