The 80,000 dwt bulk carrier First Margaux made contact with Chinese fishing vessel Luqing Yuanyu 108 in heavy traffic off Singapore on Thursday. AIS tracking later indicated that the fishing vessel remained afloat after the incident.

At about 0800 GMT, First Margaux departed a busy anchorage east of Singapore and headed west. Around the same time, Luqing Yuanyu 108 left a separate anchorage off Sentosa and proceeded south. Marine traffic in the area was heavy, leaving limited room for manoeuvre.

Both vessels subsequently entered the westbound lane of the traffic separation scheme (TSS) and headed towards the Strait of Malacca. Luqing Yuanyu 108 was ahead of the bulk carrier, while First Margaux was travelling about 2-3 knots faster.

First Margaux gradually overtook the fishing vessel from its port side. After passing astern of Luqing Yuanyu 108, the bulk carrier continued to close the distance between the two vessels.

At around 0900 GMT, the bow of First Margaux made contact with the starboard quarter of Luqing Yuanyu 108. The fishing vessel was pushed sideways, turned and heeled heavily to port. Water entered over its low gunwales and onto the main deck.

Video footage ended shortly after the contact. However, Luqing Yuanyu 108 continued transmitting an AIS signal and was still visible on vessel tracking as of Sunday, indicating that it survived the incident and reached a nearby berth. No injuries or fatalities had been reported.

First Margaux continued westbound at about 10 knots for another two hours following the incident. The bulk carrier then stopped, turned back and went to anchor.

The Panama-flagged First Margaux is a three-year-old, Japanese-owned and Chinese-managed bulk carrier. The vessel has a clean inspection record.