The body of the last missing crew member of dredger JBB de Rong 19 has been recovered two months after the fatal collision between the dredger and tanker Kartika Segara, the MPA Singapore said in its latest update.
“The body was found inside the accommodation structure of the dredger by divers during salvage operations on November 5, 2017,” the port authority said.
As all 12 crew members on board JBB de Rong 19 are now accounted for, with seven rescued and five bodies recovered , the search and recovery operations have been concluded.
The ships collided on September 13 while they were some 1.7 nautical miles south-west of Sisters Island, causing the Dominican-registered dredger to capsize. Kartika Segara reported damage to its starboard bow, nevertheless, the 26 Indonesian crew did not sustain any injuries.
The incident happened while the dredger was transiting the westbound lane and the tanker was departing Singapore and joining the eastbound lane of the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in the Singapore Strait.
Commenting on the collision, MPA said earlier that prior to the collision, Singapore’s Vessel Traffic Information System (VTIS) had provided timely navigational information and warnings to both vessels to take preventive actions to avoid a collision. However, the two vessels failed to do so.