Bulk carrier Aquacharm detained after hitting Dung Quat Port wharf

The Quang Ngai Maritime Administration on October 22 issued a notice on the detention of the vessel following a decision made by a local people’s court.

Flying the flag of the Marshall Islands, the vessel has IMO number 9921609 and is owned by Panama-registered Wealth Line Inc. Its agent in Vietnam is S&A Maritime Joint Stock Company.

Under the detention order, Aquacharm is prohibited from leaving the waters of the seaport area under the Quang Ngai Maritime Administration’s jurisdiction and must remain anchored at its designated position.

The master is responsible for maintaining a full crew, ensuring watchkeeping duties are carried out, and complying with maritime safety and security regulations and environmental pollution prevention requirements at the anchorage. The Maritime Administration has instructed the master and relevant parties to comply strictly with the court’s decision.

The incident occurred at about 5.45pm on October 18, when Aquacharm, measuring 292 metres in length and carrying 170,856 tonnes of iron ore from Australia, struck a wharf under construction at Berth No. 10 of the Hoa Phat Dung Quat Steel Integrated Complex’s dedicated port.

The collision took place at an approximately 50-metre extension connecting Berths No. 10 and 11. The section had been built but had not yet been officially commissioned for operation.

According to a report by the Dung Quat Border Guard Port Border Gate Station, the impact tore about five metres of the vessel’s bow and damaged both its port and starboard sides. Part of the wharf was also damaged, with the extent of the losses awaiting assessment.

All 22 crew members were safe. The vessel did not sink, and no oil spill had been reported.

Initial information recorded by border guard forces from the vessel’s agent and master suggested that the incident might have been linked to a pilot’s failure to control the vessel’s speed due to a communication error. However, the official cause of the collision is subject to investigation.

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