Boxship goes down off Batam
All nine crew rescued after the Tanzania-flagged Golden Star 1 sinks in one of the world's busiest shipping corridors, prompting navigation warnings
A small containership trading between Singapore and Malaysia has sunk off the Indonesian island of Batam after reportedly taking on water, prompting navigation warnings for ships transiting one of the world's busiest shipping corridors.
The 1995-built Golden Star 1, a Tanzania-flagged container and general cargo vessel operated by Pancon Shipping and Marine, went down about 6 km off Batam at around 10:30 pm local Singapore time on June 5, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
All nine crew members were rescued safely by Indonesian authorities.
The MPA said the vessel had reportedly suffered water ingress before sinking. It has since issued navigational broadcasts advising vessels to exercise caution in the area and to report any containers spotted adrift.
According to Indonesian media reports, the ship was carrying 107 containers at the time of the casualty.
Ship tracking data shows the vessel had left Singapore at around 8 pm on June 5, only hours before the incident. The 67 m, 2,444 dwt Golden Star 1 ran regional services between Singapore and Pasir Gudang in neighbouring Malaysia.
Despite the sinking, the MPA said vessel traffic through the Singapore Strait and the Straits of Malacca remained unaffected, and that there had been no reports of oil pollution in Singapore waters.