All 14 crew members aboard the Maersk Valparaiso (IMO: 9433054) were confirmed to be safe on Sunday after the container ship's collision with an oil products tanker on May 20 in Nigeria's Onne Bonny River.
This comes after at least five people were injured aboard the Nigerian-flagged tanker, Lady Martina (IMO: 5104033) after the collision, which led to the container ship blocking access to the river, and preventing ship movements at Port Harcourt and the Onne Port.
With this maritime collision being the second in just two days, the Philippines' Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) issued a stern reminder to maritime stakeholders to ensure the safety of vessels carrying Filipino seafarers.
"The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NMASA) activated its emergency response procedures in coordination with the pilot and other authorities," the DMW wrote in a Facebook post, identifying all the evacuated crew members of the Maersk Valparaiso as Filipino.
The May 20 collision
The collision took place at around 11 AM (local time) on May 20,while the Singapore-flagged container ship—which was coming from the Abidjan Port in Côte d'Ivoire—was preparing to dock at the West Africa Container Terminal of the Onne Port.
It had been carrying approximately 717 containers bound for the terminal, which is operated by Maersk’s APM Terminals.
As per local media reports, the tanker, which was emerging from the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, collided with the Maersk Valparaiso while the latter was being manoeuvred to dock at Berth 4 of the port.
This led to the tanker running aground (getting stuck in shallow waters), while the container ship also got “stuck in the mud” in the river.
What followed was an oil spill and five crew members aboard the Lady Martina suffering injuries, which led to Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) deploying a patrol board to evacuate rush the injured to safety at the earliest.
As of May 24, AIS data for the container ship shows that it was "moored", days after the collision caused it to block the river, and, in turn, the port's operations as well.
