Video: Bulker Partially Sinks After Violent Collision With Container Ship In Vietnam

A collision between a container ship and a bulker on Vietnam’s Long Tau River late Friday night resulted in severe damage, causing the bulker to partially sink and leak oil into the river.

According to multiple reports, at around 22:40 local time on April 25, the container ship KMTC Surabaya (IMO: 9821081) struck the bulk carrier Glengyle (IMO: 9727285) near An Thoi Dong, Ho Chi Minh City.

The 200-meter-long KMTC Surabaya hit the 181-meter-long Glengyle on its port side, just forward of the superstructure, nearly tearing the bulker apart.

The force of the collision ripped open Glengyle’s hull, leading to uncontrolled water ingress into one of its holds and the engine room.

The vessel began to sink stern-first, eventually settling partially on the shallow riverbed. Footage from the scene showed fuel oil spilling into the river from the damaged bulker.

Despite the severe impact, no injuries were reported aboard either vessel.

KMTC Surabaya, while sustaining bow damage, managed to contain water ingress and remained afloat without any danger of sinking. Its cargo was also reported to be intact.

The Ho Chi Minh City Maritime Port Authority quickly responded to the incident.

Authorities deployed rescue vessels to monitor the situation and placed containment booms around the site to control the oil spill.

It was also reported that the two ships remained locked together after the crash and were drifting towards the riverbank.

Seaexplorer data showed that the KMTC Surabaya, with a 2,806 TEU capacity, operates on Korea Marine Transport Co.’s intra-Asia ANX service.

Authorities confirmed that while maritime traffic in the area wasn’t severely disrupted, the Saigon Vung Tau channel was briefly diverted, and a maritime notice was issued.

An investigation into the cause of the collision has been launched by Vietnamese authorities.

Early observations noted the plumb bow design of KMTC Surabaya, a near-vertical bow shape that has been involved in other serious collisions in the past.

A similar incident occurred in 2021 when the superyacht Utopia IV sank the steel-hulled tanker Tropic Breeze using a comparable bow structure.

As of Saturday, both the KMTC Surabaya and the partially submerged Glengyle remained interlocked, with salvage teams planning operations to separate the two vessels.

References: mykn.kuehne-nagel, shipwreck log

Source: Maritime Shipping News