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Two injured in tanker collision off Jebel Ali Port

Two people sustained moderate injuries as a container ship collided with a tanker eight kilometers off Jebel Ali Port on Tuesday.

  • By Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 13:41 February 10, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • A tanker burns after being involved in a collision with a container ship in a shipping channel off the coast of Dubai on Tuesday. No fatalities were reported.
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Dubai: A container ship collided with an oil tanker about six miles from Jebel Ali Port on Tuesday afternoon.

No fatalities were reported in the incident, but two people were reported to have sustained minor injuries. The incident took place at 12.25pm when the Singapore-flagged container ship carrying 19 crew, Sima Saman, on its way from Jebel Ali Port to Sharjah, collided with the inbound tanker Kashmir with 20 crew coming from Iran and which was carrying liquified gas, said Colonel Ahmad Al Sayegh, Deputy Director of Dubai Civil Defence.

The fires on both vessels were put out within two hours of the collision which only affected one of the tanker's 22 tanks filled with liquefied gas. The collision did not result in any casualties, material losses or gas leaks except for two minor injuries, said Colonel Al Sayegh.

Clouds of smoke rose from the area and a huge oil slick formed in the sea. However, no gas leaks were reported as a swift response was taken to control the fires which affected only one oil tank out of the 22. Colonel Al Sayegh denied reports on the sinking of the oil tanker saying only its left side was damaged.

Authorities were alerted about the fire immediately.

According to a statement from Ethan D. Chorin, senior manager of corporate communications at DP World: "An inbound tanker and an outbound mid-sized container feeder vessel collided five miles out, in the channel of Jebel Ali Port, at 12.23pm.

"The tanker was on fire. All crew have been evacuated safely. Two crewmen were rescued from the water with slight injuries. Tugboats have cleared the container vessel from the channel already and the crew is safe on board."

Teams from the Regional Clean Sea Organisation (RECSO) and Seacor Environmental Services - both oil clean up companies were alerted to the accident. John Dipple, general manager of Seacor, told Gulf News equipment had been mobilised and a response system was in place.

"According to people on the ground there was no oil in the water. We were watching and waiting but the situation was stable."

- Additional inputs from Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter and WAM

Timeline: Accidents at sea

- December 26, 2007: Two boats collide off Dibba Al Hesn injuring 19 people.

- July 5, 2006: A cargo ship capsized off Ras Al Khaimah dumping 1,600 tonnes of white cement while trying to change course during a storm.

- May 25, 2005: A tanker and a commercial ship collided spilling 700 tonnes of oil 57 nautical miles off Fujairah.

- September 15, 2002: A luxury yacht went up in flames and capsized berthed at Dubai creek.

- March 25, 2002: Damaged oil tanker Stena King collided with a tanker British Vigilance off the Fujairah coast.
Source: Gulf News Archives


Your comments


I saw the smoke all the way from Swiehan city.
Sadig Elzein
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: February 10, 2009, 18:08

If there was no oil spilled, then what was burning? From the picture, it looked like the ship was tilted and the water was on fire. The colour of the smoke is also consistent with burning oil.
Robert
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 10, 2009, 17:26

I work in the Jebel Ali Freezone, right next to the coast. At noon, I saw a huge black clouds, thinking it would rain. Later when I came out of my office and saw it was like a big fire somewhere in the sea.
Akram
Dubai,UAE
Posted: February 10, 2009, 16:43

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