SINGAPORE: Two crew members on a Singapore-registered oil tanker have been charged over a collision that killed a man on the other vessel and badly injured another.
The Singapore-registered ship Hafnia Nile collided with the Ceres I, registered with the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, an African island nation, on the morning of Jul 19 last year (2024).
Media reports at the time stated that the collision happened within Singapore’s maritime search and rescue region, about 55km northeast of Pedra Branca.
The two crew members from the Hafnia Nile who were handed a charge each under the Merchant Shipping Act are: Indian national Soosai Antony Vainer, 35, and 40-year-old Sri Lankan Wickramage Viraj Amila Shavinda Perera.
According to charge sheets, Perera was the officer in charge of the navigational watch on the Hafnia Nile between 5.40am and 6am on Jul 19, 2024.
In that capacity, he allegedly failed to make “a full appraisal of the situation and the risk of dangers to navigation, maintain situational awareness of the area around the Hafnia Nile and ensure that a proper lookout was maintained”.
As a result of this failure, the vessel collided with the Ceres I, causing “serious damage” to both tankers and the death of Mr Sellakkannu Shanmugasundaram, who was on board the Ceres I.
Mr Ge Junfu, who was also on board the Ceres I, suffered serious injuries, the charge sheets stated.
Vainer was the duty lookout of the navigational watch on the Hafnia Nile at the time, according to court documents.
He observed that the Hafnia Nile was “approaching close” to the Ceres I, but did not report this to the officer in charge of the navigational watch, his charge alleged.
Instead, he allegedly steered the Hafnia Nile when he had not been directed to do so, and failed to keep a proper lookout.
As a result, the two tankers collided.
In the aftermath, Malaysia detained the Ceres I tanker, with initial reports stating that the vessel had fled the scene. Subsequently, the Malaysian authorities clarified that the Ceres I had not fled but “drifted away”.
The prosecution is brought against the two men by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.
A further mention of both cases were heard in the State Courts on Wednesday (Jul 2), and adjourned to a later date this month.
According to public records, Vainer is represented by Mr Andy Yeo of Andy Yeo Chambers while Perera is defended by Ms Wong Min Hui and Mr Mato Kotwani of PDLegal.
If found guilty, the men can each be jailed for up to two years, fined up to S$50,000, or both.
