Four Dutch seafarers slapped with fines for 2024 Singapore bunker spill
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by Admin
Four Dutch men, who were crew members of Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima when it crashed into a Singapore-flagged bunker vessel in 2024 and caused a major bunker spill in Singapore, were each handed fines in a Singapore court on Thursday (2 April), according to The Straits Times.
Merijn Heidema, 26, who was a third engineer at the time of the incident, and Eric Peijpers, 56, then a second engineer, were each fined SGD 40,000. Both were the officers in charge of the engineering watch at the time.
Richard Ouwehand, 49, who was Vox Maxima’s master, and Martin Hans Sinke, 48, then the vessel’s chief officer and in charge of its navigational watch, were each fined SGD 20,000.
Manifold Times previously reported that all four men pleaded guilty for failing to discharge their duties properly.
Heidema, Peijpers, Sinke, and Ouwehand pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 at the State Courts.
Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour was hit by Vox Maxima at Pasir Panjang Terminal on 14 June last year, which resulted in an oil spill in Singapore waters.
The crash caused one of Marine Honour’s oil cargo tanks to rupture, releasing 400 metric tonnes (mt) of low-sulphur fuel oil into the sea.
The dredger lost propulsion and steering control before crashing into Marine Honour.
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Photo credit: Manifold Times
Published: 3 April, 2025
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