Two Container Ships Collide at Port Klang

Two Container Ships Collide at Port Klang
2019-04-25 https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/two-container-ships-collide-a...

On April 21, the Neopanamax container ship COSCO England collided with a second vessel while approaching the dock at Westports Malaysia, a large container facility at Port Klang. The England required repairs, according to container carrier OOCL.

According to Westports, the vessels collided while inbound in the port's South Channel at 0253 hours on Sunday morning. After the incident, the ships both continued safely to their respective berths to commence cargo operations and undergo an inspection.

"Both vessels are presently conducting relevant surveys and repairs at our berths and it is anticipated that we would be losing 600 meters of wharf space due to this for the next 7 days," Westports said in an advisory. "We anticipate some berthing delays during this period, which we will do our best to minimise by close coordination with all customers."

The terminal operator said that the incident had no impact on the operations of the shipping channel or on the port, other than the berthing delays. It advised vessel operators to be in contact with the port's berth planning department to stay up to date on any changes in berthing arrangements.

OOCL confirmed the incident and said that no casualties or damage to OOCL container cargo resulted. However, the England required repairs, OOCL said, and could be delayed for several days.

AIS records show that on Thursday evening, the England got under way once more, bound for Piraeus.

The COSCO England is a 13,000 TEU container ship on OOCL's Asia Europe Service Loop 3 (LL3). COSCO purchased a majority stake in OOCL in July 2018.