Malaysia says it intercepted a large oil tanker that was colliding with another vessel before fleeing the scene and turning off its tracking system.
The coast guard said it located and seized the Ceres I, which flies the flag of São Tomé and Príncipe, and two tugboats that were towing the ship off the country’s east coast.
The ship collided with the Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile on Friday, causing both vessels to catch fire.
Officials in Singapore said all crew members from both ships were rescued.
The Malaysian coast guard said the Ceres I left the site immediately after the collision, which caused a fire and injured at least two crew members.
The incident occurred about 55 km northeast of Singapore’s Pedra Branca island, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said.
The head of the Malaysian coast guard’s search and rescue team, Zin Azman Mohamad Yunus, did not explain why the São Tomé and Príncipe-flagged tanker tried to flee, but added that further investigations would be conducted.
Singapore authorities said that after about 40 crew members were rescued from the burning ships, about 26 of them remained on Ceres I to extinguish the fire.
The Singapore-flagged Hafnia Nile is believed to be carrying naphtha, a flammable petroleum product.
The cause of the collision remains unclear. The Singapore Maritime Authority said shipping traffic on the busy waterway was not affected.
However, Malaysian coast guard officials discovered an oil slick measuring about 17 square kilometers.
Ceres I is a large crude oil supertanker. Some reports suggest it may be part of a so-called ‘shadow fleet’, which carries oil from countries under sanctions.
A market intelligence service, S&P Global Commodities at Sea, said the vessel, operated by China’s Shanghai Prosperity Ship Management, had previously transported Iranian crude, which is currently subject to US sanctions.
