SINGAPORE: Four Dutch crew members of a dredger that hit a bunker vessel in June 2024 and caused an oil spill pleaded guilty on Wednesday (Mar 12) to failing to discharge their duties properly.
Merijn Heidema, 26, Eric Peijpers, 56, Martin Hans Sinke, 48, and Richard Ouwehand, 49, pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Merchant Shipping Act.
Their cases were heard together in a joint hearing at the State Courts and all were represented by their own lawyers.
Merijn Heidema arrives at the State Courts on Mar 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
Eric Peijpers arrives at the State Courts on Mar 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
Martin Hans Sinke arrives at State Courts on Mar 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
Richard Ouwehand arrives at the State Courts on Mar 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
On Jun 14, 2024, the Netherlands-flagged dredger, the Vox Maxima, hit the Marine Honour, a Singapore-flagged bunker vessel, at Pasir Panjang Terminal.
According to court documents, the Vox Maxima lost steering control before its allision with Marine Honour – referring to when a moving vessel hits a stationary object.
This caused about 400 tonnes of oil from the Marine Honour to spill into the sea, with parts of the spillage landing along Singapore’s southern shorelines including on beaches at Labrador Nature Reserve, Sentosa and East Coast Park.
Clean-up operations took more than two months, and the full extent of the oil spill’s impact on the coastal and marine environment is still being assessed.
Court documents revealed that on the morning of Jun 14, 2024, at about 7.58am, a circuit breaker controlling the flow of electrical power from one of the dredger’s main generators to a step-down transformer was opened so that maintenance works could be carried out.
It remained open after the maintenance works were completed sometime that morning.
Heidema and Peijpers were scheduled to take over the engineering watch on the Vox Maxima at 12pm.
According to the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code, they each had a duty to check the condition and mode of operation of the various main and auxiliary systems, including the electrical power distribution system, prior to taking over the engineering watch.
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).
On Wednesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Regina Lim sought a fine of between S$40,000 and S$50,000 for both Heidema and Peijpers, arguing that their level of culpability was moderate as they had been negligent in their duties as officers of the engineering watch.
The power failure that led to the loss of steering control of the Vox Maxima originated from the lack of care they showed in discharging their duties, said Ms Lim.
Had they properly checked the electrical power distribution system on the Vox Maxima, they would have been able to rectify the situation and put the circuit breakers in the correct state for the voyage, she said.
They “sowed the seeds” for the accident with their negligence, she added.
As for Sinke and Ouwehand, Ms Lim sought a fine of between S$20,000 and S$30,000 for both, after assessing their culpability to be low.
She said they failed to carry out emergency steering during a power failure even though their roles required them to know the ship’s systems and procedures, including for emergency steering.
When they submitted the mitigation plea, the defence lawyers said their clients were remorseful and had cooperated with the authorities.
The four crew members are scheduled to be sentenced on Apr 2.
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Merijn Heidema, 26, Eric Peijpers, 56, Martin Hans Sinke, 48, and Richard Ouwehand, 49, pleaded guilty to one charge each under the Merchant Shipping Act.
Their cases were heard together in a joint hearing at the State Courts and all were represented by their own lawyers.
Merijn Heidema arrives at the State Courts on Mar 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
Eric Peijpers arrives at the State Courts on Mar 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
Martin Hans Sinke arrives at State Courts on Mar 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
Richard Ouwehand arrives at the State Courts on Mar 12, 2025. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)
WHAT HAPPENED
On Jun 14, 2024, the Netherlands-flagged dredger, the Vox Maxima, hit the Marine Honour, a Singapore-flagged bunker vessel, at Pasir Panjang Terminal.
According to court documents, the Vox Maxima lost steering control before its allision with Marine Honour – referring to when a moving vessel hits a stationary object.
This caused about 400 tonnes of oil from the Marine Honour to spill into the sea, with parts of the spillage landing along Singapore’s southern shorelines including on beaches at Labrador Nature Reserve, Sentosa and East Coast Park.
Clean-up operations took more than two months, and the full extent of the oil spill’s impact on the coastal and marine environment is still being assessed.
Court documents revealed that on the morning of Jun 14, 2024, at about 7.58am, a circuit breaker controlling the flow of electrical power from one of the dredger’s main generators to a step-down transformer was opened so that maintenance works could be carried out.
It remained open after the maintenance works were completed sometime that morning.
Heidema and Peijpers were scheduled to take over the engineering watch on the Vox Maxima at 12pm.
According to the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code, they each had a duty to check the condition and mode of operation of the various main and auxiliary systems, including the electrical power distribution system, prior to taking over the engineering watch.
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).
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CULPABILITY OF CREW MEMBERS
On Wednesday, Deputy Public Prosecutor Regina Lim sought a fine of between S$40,000 and S$50,000 for both Heidema and Peijpers, arguing that their level of culpability was moderate as they had been negligent in their duties as officers of the engineering watch.
The power failure that led to the loss of steering control of the Vox Maxima originated from the lack of care they showed in discharging their duties, said Ms Lim.
Had they properly checked the electrical power distribution system on the Vox Maxima, they would have been able to rectify the situation and put the circuit breakers in the correct state for the voyage, she said.
They “sowed the seeds” for the accident with their negligence, she added.
As for Sinke and Ouwehand, Ms Lim sought a fine of between S$20,000 and S$30,000 for both, after assessing their culpability to be low.
She said they failed to carry out emergency steering during a power failure even though their roles required them to know the ship’s systems and procedures, including for emergency steering.
When they submitted the mitigation plea, the defence lawyers said their clients were remorseful and had cooperated with the authorities.
The four crew members are scheduled to be sentenced on Apr 2.
Continue reading...