Manganese Ore Contamination Incident on M/V 'FALMOUTH BAY' at TIANJIN Port

The vessel, M/V 'FALMOUTH BAY', was chartered by SOUTH 32 MARKETING PTE LTD for the present voyage. It was loaded with a total of 54,000 MT of Manganese ore in bulk at the Port of Groote Eylandt, Australia, and intended to be discharged at the Port of TIANJIN, China.

On July 18, 2023, at approximately 09:36 LT, the vessel arrived at the anchorage of TIANJIN port, with the pilot on board.

At around 12:12 LT on the same day, the vessel was securely moored at berth #S5.

Discharging operations at TIANJIN port commenced at approximately 15:25 LT on July 18, 2023.

However, during the discharging process from hold NO.5, at around 16:43 LT, the crane's grab accidentally struck the sloping plate of the starboard side topside tank (No. 2S fuel oil tank), causing the plating to break and resulting in fuel oil leakage into the cargo hold, contaminating the Manganese ore.

The master promptly issued the LOP (Letter of Protest) and informed the relevant parties about the incident.