Vietnamese officials are investigating the July 14 accident in which the container ship Wan Hai collided with a bulk carrier. While neither vessel appears to have sustained significant damage during the merger, some cargo handling equipment at the bulk terminal was destroyed. The photos show some of the equipment in the water and other sections on top of the smaller ship on the pier.
The Singapore-registered containership Wan Hai A02 is a newbuild delivered to the Taiwanese shipowner only in April as part of a fleet modernization program. The 139,768 dwt vessel was bound for the Cai Mep port complex in southern Vietnam, having arrived from the United States with a stopover in China. The vessel was built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea.
The 1,099-foot Wan Hai A02 was maneuvering on the Thi Wai River, reporting bad weather, including rain and strong winds. The vessel was passing through an S-bend in the river when its stern reportedly slipped out of the channel and collided with a moored bulker. The photos show a small dent on the stern of the container ship.
Vassos 2 , an 81,600 tonne bulk carrier registered in Cyprus and operated by Safe Bulkers, was alongside the Interflour Cai Mep terminal. The vessel docked on July 10 after a voyage from Brazil and was unloading before heading to Weipa, Australia.
The force of the collision from the stern of the container ship pushed the bulker into the terminal premises. A 150-foot section of a freight conveyor system and suction equipment for unloading grain and flour collapsed. The photos show it standing on the smaller river barge seen in the listing.
Port officials ordered the Wan Hai A02 to anchor in Ho Chi Minh City. Both vessels are being inspected while the investigation finds out the circumstances of the alliance.