Big Wrecks off Malaysia…

Image Courtesy of http://www.recntec.com click here for hi-res image

The Beautiful ‘Sun Vista’ ( previously SS Meridian )

Location: Approx 45miles West of Penang, Malaysis in the Andaman Sea

27,888 GRT
701 x 93.8 feet
Twin Screw, geared De Laval turbines from builders
25.5 knots
44,000 shaft horsepower
156 First Class, 1,594 Tourist Class passengers

Built at Cantieri Riuniti dell’Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy as GALILEO GALILEI for Lloyd Triestino SpA di Navigazione, Genoa
Yard #1862

“On May 21st, 1999, the vessel suffered an engine room fire, which cut all power to the ship and caused her to sink. All 1,090 passengers and crew were safely evacuated.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Galileo_Galilei

The Japanese Battleship Haguro. Also from Penang, Malaysia

Depth 64meters

The huge Car transporter MV Hyundai – Sank off Singapore May 2004

SINGAPORE — Salvage divers jumped into deep, murky waters off Singapore on Monday to assess whether a ship that sank with 4,000 cars on board after colliding with an oil tanker has spilled any of its 990 tons of fuel oil, officials said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT OF THE SINKING OF MV HYUNDAI

SINGAPORE (AP) – A ship carrying 4,000 cars sank after colliding with an oil tanker just south of Singapore, authorities said Sunday.

The collision between the tanker MT Kaminesan, carrying nearly 279,950 tons of crude oil, and car carrier MV Hyundai occurred late Saturday night, the Maritime and Ports Authority of Singapore said.

“Prior to the collision, warnings were given to the two vessels by the MPA’s vessel traffic information service. The two vessels also communicated with each other,” it said in a statement.

The accident occurred four miles southeast of the resort island of Sentosa, authorities said.

All 20 crew members of the Hyundai were rescued before it sank, the authority said. There was no immediate leak of oil from the Panama-registered Kaminesan, Maritime and Ports Authority spokeswoman Theresa Pong said.

The oil tanker was being towed into Singapore’s port. Its 26 crew remained onboard.

In Seoul, a spokesman for Korean carmaker Hyundai, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sunken ship was carrying both Hyundai and Kia cars and said they were gathering more information on the accident.

Pong said both ships were transiting through the city-state, one of the world’s busiest ports.

Divers assess fuel leak from sunken car carrier

May 25, 2004

Salvage divers jumped into deep, murky waters off Singapore today to assess whether a ship that sank with 4000 cars on board after colliding with an oil tanker has spilled more than 900 tonnes of fuel oil.

“The damage, the hole, is huge. We’re most afraid of oil leakage from any of the tanks,” said spokeswoman Patsy Phay of Eukor Car Carriers, operators of the ship now lying in 40-metre deep water 8km off Singapore.

The Panama-registered car carrier MV Hyundai No 105 sank yesterday after a head-on collision with oil tanker MT Kaminesan, which was carrying almost 300,000 tonnes of crude oil in a busy shipping lane just south of Singapore.

MV Hyundai’s crew of eight Koreans and 12 Filipinos abandoned ship 15 minutes before it sank in Indonesian waters with a cargo valued at $US40 million ($57.36 million), Eukor said.

There was no leak from the oil tanker, but the collision tore a 50-by-20 metre hole in the side of the car carrier.

The MV Hyundai was carrying more than 900 tonnes of fuel for its journey to Europe, where it was to deliver 3,000 new Hyundai and Kia cars plus used Japanese cars in England and Germany.

Efforts to remove the oil from the vessel will begin after permission is received from the Indonesian government, Eukor said.

Phay said that was likely to occur in the next few days.

Two anti-pollution boats, one from agents for MV Hyundai and the other from Singapore authorities, were in the area checking for any leaks, the Maritime and Ports Authority said in a statement today.

The MPA said primary responsibility for the salvage rested with Indonesian authorities and Eukor but said it would provide assistance if necessary.

Phay said there were no initial reports of leaks from the divers.

The Panama-registered Kaminesan has been towed back to Singapore and anchored off the city-state’s coast.

The cause of the accident was not clear. Weather was fine at the time and both ships communicated with each other before the crash, officials said.

(picture courtesy of Martin Leduc – Martin’s Marine Engineering Page http://members.shaw.ca/diesel-duck/)