BOW CECIL was sailing down-river with two local pilots onboard. The current was strong and there was upstream ship traffic. As soon as the oil barge, which crossed the river, became visible, BOW CECIL sounded the alarm horn and reversed the propeller. Even if BOW CECIL did every thing in her power to avoid a collision, the oil barge was hit and sank. One person from the oil barge is reported injured and two persons are reported missing.
BOW CECIL anchored immediately after the incident. There is no damage to BOW CECIL or her crew.
Chinese authorities are handling the incident locally in close cooperation with BOW CECIL and Odfjell.
BOW CECIL is a 37,500 dwt chemical tanker delivered from the Norwegian shipyard Kleven Florø in 1998. The vessel is registered in the Norwegian International Ship registry (NIS) and is classed by Det Norske Veritas (DNV). BOW CECIL has Norwegian officers and Filipino crew onboard. Odfjell ASA in Bergen, Norway manages the vessel commercially and technically. The vessel was en route from Xiaohudao to Zhuhai, near Hong Kong.