Cargo ship slams into Chinese fishing boat in Singapore Strait

Footage of a cargo ship ploughing into a Chinese fishing boat in the Singapore Strait, sending seawater surging across the smaller vessel’s deck as its crew scrambled to hold on, has circulated widely online.

The 229-metre-long (750-foot) bulk carrier First Margaux struck the Luqing Yuanyu 108, a 49-metre (160-foot) Chinese fishing vessel, at around 5pm on Thursday last week, according to ship-tracking data cited by The Maritime Executive.

Both vessels had left anchorage near Singapore at roughly the same time that morning and entered the same westbound channel under the traffic separation scheme – a routing system designed to prevent collisions in one of the world’s busiest maritime choke points.

Video that surfaced over the weekend, filmed from aboard the fishing boat, shows the cargo ship bearing down on the smaller vessel from behind before ploughing into its side.