The incident ended without tragedy, with both crews accounted for and limited environmental damage. But the likelihood of a different outcome is rising — not only because more uninsured, aging vessels are passing through the straits, but because dozens of these ships are circling in the same waters. Their transponders are often switched on and off, making their movements harder to track.
A collision that set two vessels ablaze off Singapore has underlined the growing risks in the crowded Straits of Malacca, as the dark fleet expands and lacklustre Chinese demand leaves dozens of the tankers idling.
The Ceres I, a 23-year-old crude oil tanker sailing under the flag of Sao Tome & Principe, and the Hafnia Nile, a Singapore-flagged refined-products tanker, crashed early Friday morning in one of the world’s busiest waterways. Ceres I then fled the scene with two tugboats, before being intercepted off Malaysia.
