WHAT HAPPENED
On Jun 14, 2024, the Netherlands-flagged dredger, the Vox Maxima, hit the Marine Honour, a Singapore-flagged basement vessel, at Pasir Panjang Terminal.
According to judge papers, the Vox Maxima lost wheel power before its allision with Marine Honour– referring to when a moving vehicle hits a stable object.
This caused about 400 tonnes of oil from the Marine Honour to seep into the water, with elements of the spills getting along Singapore’s southern shores including on shorelines at Labrador Nature Reserve, Sentosa and East Coast Park.
Clean-up businesses took more than two weeks, and the total amount of the oil spill’s effect on the seaside and marine culture is still being assessed.  ,
Court records revealed that on the day of Jun 14, 2024, at about 7.58am, a circuit switch controlling the flow of electric energy from one of the dredger’s major producers to a step-down converter was opened so that repair works may be carried out.
It remained available after the repair functions were completed somewhere that morning.
Heidema and Peijpers were scheduled to take over the executive see on the Vox Maxima at 12pm.
According to the Seafarers ‘ Education, Documentation and Watchkeeping Code, they , each had a responsibility to check the condition and mode of operation of the different main and auxiliary systems, including the electric power distribution system,  , prior to taking over the architectural view.  ,
However, they did not do so.
They also failed to ensure that when the engine room was put in a stand-by condition, an adequate reserve of power was available for the dredger’s steering gear and other requirements.
While preparing the main engines for the vessel’s voyage that day, they also failed to notice that the circuit breaker was open and, as such, failed to close it.  ,
At 2.05pm, the Vox Maxima proceeded to depart from the Western Anchorage towards ST Engineering Marine’s Tuas yard.  , While it was underway, two of the ship’s hydraulic pumps were started from the bridge, one after the other, as part of its planned operations.
These hydraulic pumps drew power from the low-voltage switchboards, increasing the electric load at another circuit breaker. This circuit breaker eventually tripped , at 2.12pm, resulting , in a , loss of electrical power for all low-voltage equipment including the rudders and controllable pitch propellers.
There was a loss of steering and propulsion control of the Vox Maxima.
The court heard that at about 2.14pm, the Vox Maxima approached another ship, the Super Hero, which altered its course and speed to avoid a collision with the dredger.  ,
The two ships passed each other without incident. At the time, the Super Hero had 21 crew members on board.
Two minutes later, the Vox Maxima allided into the Marine Honour, causing damage to the latter. The Marine Honour is still undergoing repairs for the damage and the cost of the repairs is expected to exceed S$ 6.6 million ( US$ 4.95 million ).