Iranian crude carrier, Swiss MSC Alexandria collide in Singapore Strait

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore says it was notified just before midnight that the VLCC Dream II, belonging to National Iranian Oil Tanker Company (NIOTC) and the MSC Alexandra containership, belonging to the second major world container carrier company in Switzerland, had collided in the Singapore Strait about 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) southeast of Sebarok Island.
The supertanker sustained damage to its bow in the collision. The MSC Alexandra took the hit at its port quarter, causing a giant hole and the loss of containers overboard. Both vessels are in stable condition and anchored in Singapore waters, the MPA said.
MSC Alexandra reported that 10 empty containers fell overboard during the incident, including four which fell onto the deck of VLCC. The MPA said it immediately issued navigation broadcast to warn vessels of the presence of floating containers in the vicinity of the incident site, while deploying survey and salvage teams to recover the containers.
There were no injuries or oil pollution reported.
The MSC Alexandra is owned by Geneva, Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Company and was built in 2010. The vessel has a TEU capacity of 13,998 and measures nearly 396 meters in length. AIS data shows the ship had just departed Singapore for Chiwan, China.
Both vessels are Panama-flagged.
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