SINGAPORE – A supply vessel was reported to have capsized and sunk in Singapore territorial waters on Thursday (Feb 14) morning, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said.

The Dominica-flagged supply vessel, Ocean Cooper 2, was in the westbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme – an international maritime route system to manage ship traffic in busy waters – when it sank about three nautical miles from Pedra Branca, a small island 40km east of Singapore.

The incident happened in the Singapore Strait, one of the world’s busiest shipping zones.

MPA received news of the sinking at about 7.15am.

All three Indonesian crew members were rescued unhurt by a nearby accompanying supply vessel, Jolly Rachel, belonging to the same company as the vessel which sank. No oil pollution was reported.

MPA issued navigational broadcasts asking ships to navigate with caution in the vicinity after the incident.

MPA, which is investigating the incident, also deployed a craft to survey the wreck.

Traffic in the Singapore Strait remains unaffected.

In January, an undersea cable and pipe-laying ship, the Vanuatu-flagged MV Star Centurion, capsized in Indonesian waters of the Singapore Strait after colliding with a tanker. No deaths were reported in the incident.

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