Oil tanker STI POPLAR collided with pier at Ploce, Dubrovnik, Croatia. Oil terminal inoperable for at least 7 days
Aug. 10, 2018 at 13:12 by Mikhail Voytenko in Accidents 365
Product tanker STI POPLAR loaded with some 27000 tons of fuel collided with oil terminal pier at Ploce, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Adriatic sea, understood on Aug 5, while maneuvering to berth.
Pier and oil transfer equipment were said to be heavily damaged, with some crushed parts falling into water.
Tanker’s stern was also damaged, according to officials, but no leak occurred.
Tanker was brought to anchor at Ploce anchorage, for assessment of damages, damages costs and investigation.
It is said, that damages sustained by terminal amount to millions of euro, and with terminal being inoperable for at least 7 days, oil supply of Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro may be hampered.
STI POPLAR current position is 43.03689 N / 17.3789 E on Aug 11, 2018 04:23 UTC. Vessel STI POPLAR (IMO: 9696589, MMSI: 538005408) is a Chemical/Oil Products Tanker built in 2014 and currently sailing under the flag of Marshall Islands.
IMRRA, FleetMon’s official Vessel Risk Rating Partner, risk assessed this tanker as having a ‘green’ risk rating, with a specific risk rating of 26% (27-MAR-18), compared to the fleet average 34.8%. New risk assessment reports can be purchased via FleetMon.
Red: Poorest performing; Amber: Average value; Green: Good indicator.
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Tanker Damages Dock at Ploce Port, Croatia
A tanker loaded with oil rammed into a dock in the Croatian Port of Ploce, causing significant damage that left the port’s liquid cargo terminal inoperable.
According to local media, the tanker smashed into the dock causing a portion of the quay wall and the unloading infrastructure to fall into the sea and sink.
The vessel in question has been identified as STI Poplar, a Marshall Islands-flagged oil/chemical tanker built in 2014.
Based on the vessel’s latest AIS data from Marine Traffic, it is anchored in the Croatian port, where it arrived from Sarroch, Italy on August 8.
The port authority said that due to the damages inflicted by the collision it has banned utilization of the docking facility.
It is not clear when the terminal will resume operation, however, the authority said it was taking all necessary activities to avoid further damages being inflicted and reopen the docking facility as soon as possible.
The cause of the accident is yet to be determined, however, several causes are being investigated including the role of pilots, tugs that were pulling the vessel into the dock as well as the vessel’s captain and crew.
Since the unloading facility has been closed, oil supply across Dalmatia is likely to be affected, taking into account that other vessels will also have to wait for a solution to be made to unload oil.
World Maritime News is yet to receive a comment from the port authority on how many vessels are pending unloading and what alternatives are being considered for their unloading.