Tanker collides with cargo vessel in Gulf of Finland

print this

The Norwegian-registered product/chemicals carrier M/T Sten Nordic, carrying 11,000 tons of gas oil, rammed the stern of a cargo vessel sailing in front of it in a narrow ice passage in the Gulf of Finland in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
     
The collision took place at 2 am in the vicinity of the island of Suursaari. The 16,600 dwt tanker sustained a couple of holes to its side above the water line.
      The ship's twenty-strong Filipino crew escaped the situation unharmed, and the double-hulled vessel did not leak any oil into the sea.
      The product carrier is on lease by Finland's state-owned oil refining company Neste Oil, and it was on its way from St. Petersburg to Hamburg.
     
According to the Neste Oil CEO Erkki Kotiranta, there are usually two reasons for why ships may collide in an ice passage. Either the ship ahead gets stuck in the ice, or a collision occurs in an overtaking situation. At present, the cause of this particular accident is still unknown.
      The cargo vessel continued on its way, but the tanker will not be allowed to proceed to Tallinn for repairs until Russian officials have examined the damage.
      The thickness of ice at the scene of the accident was estimated at around 40 centimetres.
      There is a certain sensitivity in the air at present, with increased oil transport traffic in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea giving rise to fears that a major spill and environmental disaster is waiting to happen.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Tanker Propontis to dock in Finnish city of Porvoo (13.2.2007)
  Tanker runs aground in Gulf of Finland - major environmental disaster averted (12.2.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat