Oil tanker “MT Liberty” runs aground near Singapore Strait

The Indonesian Navy on Sunday (10 December) said Cameron-flagged tanker MT Liberty ran aground in the waters of Pasir Pasir Panjang, Karimun Regency, Riau Islands, near the Singapore Strait on 2 December. 

It said it was working together with other agencies to evacuate the crew from the tanker that was carrying a cargo of 139,000 tonnes of fuel oil. 

Regional naval base commander Anro Casanova said they suspected the ship ran aground while pulling anchor as it was about to move towards the dock of PT Oiltanking Karimun,a terminal that caters to storage and handling of petroleum products and fuel oil.

As a preventative measure, an oil spill boom was installed around the ship to prevent the oil spill from spreading widely into the surrounding waters and securing the area around the incident by 1 Patkamla unit. 

Satellite research by TankerTrackers.com claimed MT Liberty was “laden with nearly a million barrels of Venezuelan fuel oil” according to its research. 

“For the second time in 14 months, yet another Dark Fleet tanker has run aground west of the Singapore Strait. The vessel has been identified as LIBERTY (9207027),” it said on social media platform X. 

Photo credit: Indonesian Navy
Published: 13 December, 2023