Russian steel slab sinks after Yangtze River collision

Market: Metals
29/01/24

A vessel carrying about 50,000t of steel slab from Russian steelmaker NLMK to China sank last week after colliding with another ship in the Yangtze River.

The last position of the vessel, the 48,821t Marshall Islands-flagged Omega, was sent on 23 January, when it was just off the east coast of China, en route to Jiangyin. The crash involved a vessel carrying Iranian iron ore pellet.

The Omega left Tuapse port in Russia on about 10 November, according to vessel-tracking data, before stopping at Istanbul and Singapore. The captain of the vessel died while trying to evacuate, but all other crew members were rescued, sources said.

Another steel-carrying vessel sank recently. In this collision, about 4,000t of steel coil from ArcelorMittal Bremen destined for the UK sank into the North Sea, also following a collision with another ship.

By Colin Richardson

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