3月12日，悬挂荷兰国旗的挖泥船Vox Maxima上的四名荷兰船员在新加坡法院认罪，他们未能妥善履行职责，导致2024年6月发生重大漏油事件。

这起事故发生在巴西班让码头，是新加坡10年来最严重的漏油事件。

2024年6月14日，43,400载重吨的Vox Maxima在从西安克雷奇驶向ST Engineering Marine的大士船厂时失去了推进和转向。

这导致了与新加坡国旗的“Marine Honour”号（9000载重吨）燃油船的碰撞，该船停靠在码头，为另一艘船提供燃料。

这次撞击导致“Marine Honour”号的一个油箱破裂，向新加坡水域释放了约400吨燃油。漏油事件蔓延到敏感的沿海地区，包括拉布拉多、东海岸公园、圣淘沙、自然保护区和南部岛屿。

一些石油甚至到达了马来西亚哥打丁吉的柔佛州海岸线。清理工作花了两个多月的时间，当局仍在评估对环境的全面影响。

根据1995年《商船法》被指控的四名船员是：

理查德·欧文德（Richard Ouwehand），49岁，Vox Maxima的船长

马丁·汉斯·辛克（Martin Hans Sinke），48岁，大副，负责航海

Eric Peijpers，56岁，大管轮

Merijn Heidema，26岁，二管轮

每名船员都承认未能正确履行职责，导致船只失去控制并随后发生碰撞。

法庭程序显示，6月14日上午，Vox Maxima在锚泊期间进行了维护工作。

当时值班的轮机员打开了高压配电盘上的断路器，以便对右舷的降压变压器进行维护。

然而，在工作完成后，断路器被打开，切断了船上一些系统的电源。

中午，Peijpers和Heidema接管了轮机值班。他们被告知，该船需要在下午1:30前准备好启航，并开始将电源从辅助发电机切换到主发电机。

然而，他们没有检查断路器，断路器一直处于打开状态，导致该船依赖于左舷的一台发电机。下午2:05，当船开始航行时，由低压配电盘供电的两个液压泵被启动。

当第二台泵启动时，它使端口侧的断路器过载，导致低压系统的电源完全关闭。这导致了推进力和转向力的丧失。

下午2点14分左右，漂浮的Vox Maxima几乎与15000载重吨的成品油轮Super Hero相撞，Super Hero及时改变了速度和航向，避免了事故。

然而，这艘挖泥船随后撞击了“Marine Honour”号，造成了严重的结构损坏。

这艘燃油船至少损坏了6个压载舱、10个货油舱和1个污水舱。“Marine Honour”号仍在维修中，估计费用在500万至660万美元之间。

检察官辩称，当船只失控时，Ouwehand和Sinke没有采取紧急转向措施。他们建议对两名船员处以15000至22500美元的罚款，对轮机员处以30000至37500美元的罚款。

根据新加坡法律，每名船员将面临最高两年的监禁和高达5万美元的罚款。量刑听证会定于2025年4月2日举行。

▲Image for representation purposes only

英文原文

Four Dutch crew members aboard the Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima pleaded guilty on March 12 in a Singapore court for failing to properly perform their duties, leading to a major oil spill in June 2024.



The incident occurred at Pasir Panjang Terminal and was recorded as the worst oil spill Singapore has seen in a decade.



On June 14, 2024, the 43,400 dwt Vox Maxima lost propulsion and steering while moving from the Western Anchorage to ST Engineering Marine’s Tuas shipyard.



This led to a collision with the Singapore-flagged bunker tanker Marine Honour (9,000 dwt), which was docked at the terminal and supplying fuel to another vessel.



The impact caused one of Marine Honour’s tanks to rupture, releasing approximately 400 tonnes of fuel oil into Singapore’s waters.  The oil spill spread to sensitive coastal areas, including Labrador, East Coast Park, Sentosa, Nature Reserve, and the Southern Islands.



Some oil even reached the Johor coastline in Kota Tinggi, Malaysia.  Cleanup efforts took more than two months, and authorities are still assessing the full environmental impact.



The four crew members charged under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 are:



Richard Ouwehand, aged 49- Master of Vox Maxima

Martin Hans Sinke, aged 48- Chief Officer, responsible for navigation

Eric Peijpers, aged 56- Second Engineer

Merijn Heidema, aged 26- Third Engineer



Each officer admitted to failing to properly carry out their duties, contributing to the vessel’s loss of control and subsequent collision.



Court proceedings revealed that maintenance work was carried out on the Vox Maxima on the morning of June 14 while it was anchored.



Engineers on duty at the time opened a circuit breaker on the high-voltage switchboard to allow maintenance on a step-down transformer on the starboard side.



However, after the work was completed, the circuit breaker was left open, cutting power to some of the vessel’s systems.



At noon, Peijpers and Heidema took over the engineering watch.  They were informed that the vessel needed to be ready to sail by 1:30 p.m. and began switching power from the auxiliary generator to the main generators.



However, they failed to check the circuit breaker, which remained open, leaving the ship reliant on a single generator from the port side.  At 2:05 p.m., as the vessel got underway, its two hydraulic pumps which were powered by the low-voltage switchboards, were started.



When the second pump activated, it overloaded the circuit breaker on the port side, causing a complete shutdown of power to low-voltage systems.  This resulted in a loss of propulsion and steering.



At around 2:14 p.m., the drifting Vox Maxima nearly collided with the 15,000 dwt product tanker Super Hero, which managed to alter speed and course just in time to avoid an accident.



However, the dredger then struck Marine Honour, causing major structural damage.



The bunker tanker sufferred damage to at least six ballast tanks, ten cargo oil tanks, and a slop tank.  Marine Honour remains under repair, with costs estimated between $5 million and $6.6 million USD.



Prosecutors argued that Ouwehand and Sinke failed to engage emergency steering when the vessel lost control.  They recommended fines of $15,000 to $22,500 USD for both officers and $30,000 to $37,500 USD for the engineers.



Under Singaporean law, each crew member faces a maximum penalty of two years in jail and fines up to $50,000 USD.  The sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 2, 2025.

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