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Jean Iau

Footage of a cargo ship ploughing into a Chinese fishing boat in the Singapore Strait, sending seawater surging across the smaller vessel’s deck as its crew scrambled to hold on, has circulated widely online.
The 229-metre-long (750-foot) bulk carrier First Margaux struck the Luqing Yuanyu 108, a 49-metre (160-foot) Chinese fishing vessel, at around 5pm on Thursday last week, according to ship-tracking data cited by The Maritime Executive.
Both vessels had left anchorage near Singapore at roughly the same time that morning and entered the same westbound channel under the traffic separation scheme – a routing system designed to prevent collisions in one of the world’s busiest maritime choke points.
Video that surfaced over the weekend, filmed from aboard the fishing boat, shows the cargo ship bearing down on the smaller vessel from behind before ploughing into its side.
The impact spun the fishing boat around, with crew members seen clinging to railings as water poured onto the deck.


No injuries were reported and Singapore’s maritime authority has yet to issue a public statement on the incident. This Week in Asia has contacted the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore for comment.
The Luqing Yuanyu 108 kept transmitting its automatic identification system signal after the collision and was still being tracked as of Sunday, indicating it survived the encounter and later reached a nearby berth, The Maritime Executive reported.
First Margaux reportedly carried on westbound at a steady speed of 10 knots (18.5km/h) for roughly two hours before stopping, circling back and anchoring.
The Japanese-owned, Chinese-managed bulk carrier was overtaking the fishing boat when its bow made contact, according to The Maritime Executive’s reconstruction, travelling up to three knots faster.
Maritime analyst Sal Mercogliano suggested on social media that First Margaux might have been boxed in by a third vessel, another bulk carrier, leaving the fishing boat pincered between two larger ships.

“One of the problems of ship collision videos is you only get one perspective,” he wrote, adding that the Singapore Strait “is one of the most complicated and busy traffic areas on the planet”.
First Margaux is a three-year-old bulk carrier of about 80,000 deadweight tonnes, flagged in Panama and carrying a clean inspection record.
The Panama Maritime Authority confirmed in a statement to local media that it had launched an investigation into the incident.
The straits of Singapore and Malacca form one of the world’s busiest and most critical maritime trade corridors, carrying nearly 40 per cent of global trade and about a third of the world’s seaborne oil – making it the busiest corridor for crude oil and petroleum liquids by volume.


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Cargo ship slams into Chinese fishing boat in Singapore Strait

A still from a social media video shows crew members clinging to railings in the aftermath of the ship collision in the Singapore Strait last week. Photo: X

Container ships and oil tankers are seen in the Singapore Strait in April this year. Photo: AFP

A still from a video filmed from aboard the fishing boat shows water pouring on to the deck after the collision. Photo: X

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Hamzah Mohamad, a 71-year-old Singaporean fisherman, speaking in an interview at West Coast Park about his trade and life as a former islander. Photo: Jean Iau

Storage tanks and oil refineries on Jurong Island. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Sunday the island had shaped Singapore’s economy for over 50 years. Photo: Reuters.

Hamzah Mohamad shows his bubu traps, traditional fishing devices he uses for his catch. Photo: Jean Iau

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Dramatic footage shows the moment a Panama-flagged bulk carrier collided with a Chinese trawler in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes


Dramatic footage shows the moment a Panama-flagged bulk carrier collided with a Chinese trawler in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.


Cargo ship slams into Chinese fishing boat in Singapore Strait

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Dramatic footage shows the moment a Panama-flagged bulk carrier collided with a Chinese trawler in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes

Dramatic footage shows the moment a Panama-flagged bulk carrier collided with a Chinese trawler in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes