An Iranian-flagged freight ship was aground on Thursday after colliding with a container ship in the busy shipping lanes off Singapore, the port authority said. The ship, carrying a cargo of maize and on its way to Vietnam when it struck an Indonesian-flagged container vessel outside Singapore port's waters late on Wednesday, was towed to shallow waters to avoid sinking. The container ship carried on its way. Singapore is the world's busiest container port and the world's top fuel bunkering port, and the city-state's trade is more than three times the size of its gross domestic product.
There were no casualties but the freight ship's cargo hold was damaged and had to have water pumped out. The ship could be seen lying very low in the water from buildings overlooking the port.
"It's in a stable condition -- it will have to be moved," a spokeswoman from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said, adding the cause of the collision, the only one this year, was being investigated.
There were no casualties but the freight ship's cargo hold was damaged and had to have water pumped out. The ship could be seen lying very low in the water from buildings overlooking the port.
"It's in a stable condition -- it will have to be moved," a spokeswoman from the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said, adding the cause of the collision, the only one this year, was being investigated.