Isle of Man Registered Vessel in Collision

During the afternoon of Tuesday 18th August 2009 the Isle of Man Ship Registry received reports that an Isle of Man registered vessel had been in collision with another vessel in the Malacca Straits, to the north west of Singapore.

Further information has shown that the bulk carrier Ostende Max (38489gt), registered in Douglas, was in collision with a Liberian registered tanker Formosaproduct Brick (70,426 dwt) in the Malacca Straits some 20 miles off Port Dickson, Malaysia.

The collision happened at 1430 (2130 local time) on 18th August 2009 and there are no reported casualties on the Ostende Max, with a small fire on the forecastle being quickly extinguished. The Ostende Max, along with other vessels, stood by the tanker that was reported to be on fire and listing. Latest information is that there may be a number of seafarers unaccounted for from the damaged tanker.

Two casualty investigators from the Isle of Man Ship Registry are travelling to Malaysia today in order to conduct a preliminary investigation into the possible causes of the incident.

A Ship Registry spokesperson said today:

“This is an unfortunate incident and we are sending two investigators from the Island to Malaysia today to carry out an investigation into the possible causes, there are a number of news reports regarding the incident however, we cannot currently confirm these and we have no further information at this time; however we will provide further information as and when we receive it.”