On December 3, at 5:20 a.m. local time, the Suezmax oil tanker “Gloria Maris” collided with the HMM St. Petersburg, one of the world’s largest container ships, about 8.9 miles southeast of Algeciras, Spain. Following the incident, both vessels were detained by Spanish authorities for investigation.
According to reports, the vessels involved in the incident are the 157,000 DWT Suezmax oil tanker “Gloria Maris” (built in 2021), operated by NGM Energy under the Moundreas family, and the 23,792 TEU ultra-large container ship “HMM St. Petersburg” (built in 2020), operated by the South Korean flagship liner company HMM.
Preliminary inspections showed that both ships had structural damage. Fortunately, there were no injuries or environmental damage, and both vessels remained seaworthy. The tanker had 25 crew members on board, while the container vessel had 24.
Currently, the port captain of Algeciras, Spain, is leading the preliminary investigation into the incident, focusing on determining the cause of the event. Meanwhile, authorities have conducted further inspections of both vessels’ safety conditions and will only approve their departure from the port once the issues are clarified. The “Gloria Maris” has been temporarily anchored at the anchorage, while the container ship “HMM St. Petersburg” has been allowed to continue to its berth at Algeciras.