BW Group: LR1 tanker hits BPCL's import mooring in India; released

BW Group's Singapore-flagged Long Range 1 tanker the Hafnia Seine hit Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd.'s crude import mooring on India's west coast overnight but has now been released and is moving towards a secure anchorage, the ship's owners said March 11.

The tanker was fully laden with alkylate when it made contact with the Single Point Mooring Buoy at BPCL's Sikka facility, shortly before midnight, IST, a Denmark-based Hafnia spokesperson told S&P Global Commodity Insights. Hafnia is part of BW Group.

There was no breach to the hull -- including the cargo containment and bunker tanks -- nor any injuries to the crew or pollution, the spokesperson said.

With assistance from tug boats, the Hafnia Seine has been released from the SPM buoy and is moving towards an anchorage for further inspection, while the company is investigating the cause of the incident, she said.

Earlier, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said the chain of a single point mooring had become entangled with the tanker.

The cargo was bound for the US Atlantic Coast from Reliance's Jamnagar refinery, several oil trading sources said separately. In the event of a delay in the voyage, Hafnia has an option to transfer the cargo to one of its unchartered tankers, sources said.

Hafnia runs the world's largest pool of LR1 tankers, which carry refined products of up to 65,000-mt each. The pool has just under 50 LR1s, or 12% of the global fleet of this category. BPCL's SPM in Sikka moves crude to its landlocked Bina refinery in India’s central province of Madhya Pradesh. BPCL did not reply immediately to a request for comment.