The collision between Malaysian government vessel Polaris and Greek vessel Piraeus in the disputed waters off Tuas on Saturday (9 Feb). Source: Singapore Police Force

Singapore’s Port and Maritime Authority (MPA) has issued a rebuttal against the “false online allegations” made by online publication Singapore Herald regarding the recent collision between Malaysian government vessel Polaris and Greek vessel Piraeus in the disputed waters off Tuas, insisting that “there is neither a ‘chief culprit’ nor an ‘arranged’ incident” as claimed by the blog.

SH, formerly known as States Times Review, claimed in a post on Sunday (10 Feb) that “According [to] sources in the shipping industry, preliminary investigations are now pointing to the Singapore government being the chief culprit arranging for the incident as a case to drive Malaysia out of the disputed Johor Straits waters”.

“It is no coincidence, Greece is a bankrupted country with 178.6% of its GDP in government debt.

“Likely chances are that the Singapore dictatorship could have deliberated the sea incident on Saturday (Feb 9), as a form of debt payment,” it added.

SH further alleged: “In the incident at the disputed waters, the first respondent was the Singapore state media who had their cameras prepared for the incident.

“A video was uploaded by the Singapore state media, Straits Times, almost immediately after the incident at 2.26pm.

“The Singapore government also issued an inaccurate press release stating the time of collision at 2.28pm – which is likely an arranged ETA time for the “incident” arranged between the Singapore government and its debtor.

“The Singapore authorities, after all, were the first respondent and even had a video: how could they get the time wrong then?” SH posited.

MPA addressed the alleged discrepancy in the timing reported by The Straits Times and the Singapore government’s press release as claimed by SH, stating the following:

Here are the facts:
1428hrs: PIREAS collided with POLARIS on its way from Singapore to Tanjung Pelepas. The incident was witnessed by PCG patrolling in the vicinity. PIREAS also reported its collision with POLARIS to MPA’s Port Operations Control Centre, and indicated that it had not sustained any damage.

1902hrs: After the facts had been established, MPA released a media statement, along with a photo of the incident.

1903hrs: The Straits Times posted the statement and carried the picture on its online site. It then followed up with a Facebook post at 1907hrs.

2000hrs: Videos of the collision were provided to the media.

SH also alleged that the crew onboard the Piraeus “have taken bribes to arrange the crash as the ship set off in Polaris’s direction, and timing the crash by differing its sailing speed”.

“A check with the vessel speed revealed that the Greek ship informed the Malaysian ship that they will steer clear.

“The Greek crews slowed down the vessel 50 minutes before, but they did not change the course – ostensibly to minimise damage on the deliberate contact,” it charged.

The blog further speculated: “The Singapore authorities, who claimed that the incident took place in their waters, did not attend to the incident – as if they already knew that the crash is nothing serious and there would be no injuries or life-threatening mishaps”.

“Investigators are now looking up finances of the Greek ship owner, Chronos Shipping, and the interactions of the crews at the Singapore harbour,” it concluded.

Consequently, MPA reiterated that investigations are still ongoing, and “strongly urges the public to avoid spreading deliberate online falsehoods”.

Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
You May Also Like

SPF: Overall crime in Singapore decreased by 2.6 percent

Singapore Police Force has announced that overall crime decreased by 2.6 percent,…

Parliament would not have made provisions for Merdeka Generation Package if this was an “election Budget”: Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin, on criticisms against Budget 2019

In light of calls for the Government to devise “more universal and…

SGC: Tripartite partnership can help preserve Singaporean workforce during pandemic

As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic worsens, the more than 8,000…

广告商称将电动滑板车改为个人助行器 陆交局斥:不负责任

广告商宣称为电动滑板修改为个人助行器,陆交局直指供应商不负责任,呼吁民众勿购买使用。 昨日(13日)陆路交通管理局发文告表示,近期有广告声称,能够将电动滑板车改为个人助行器(PMA),是不合法的行为。陆交局表明,若修改成为个人助行器会导致原始设备和机械的结果完整性遭到破坏,使其安全认证失效,可能造成用户或公众构成安全风险。 PMA是供不良于行、无法长时间站立或骑自行车有困难的人士使用,为老人家居多,而大多数的PMA在安全性与性能方面都符合国际标准如含ISO7176 和EN12184的标志,并限速每小时10公里的速度。 陆交局表明,由于危及行人与使用者的安全,因此,陆交局将会严正以待,针对故意忽视规定的制造商,将会采取严厉的行动。 近年来,由于电板车意外频传,因此政府开始收紧电动踏板车使用条例,例如提倡使用者舍弃不合规定的电动踏板车或禁止电动滑板车上行人道,因此今年9月提早实施个人代步工具需符合标准UL2272,亦推出回收电动踏板车换取现金计划。 该计划若已经注册的车主们于11月30日之前销毁器材,将能够以每架代步工具换取100元奖励金。用户可在今年9月23日起至明年3月31日,将不合规定带回制定地点进行销毁。 据《联合早报》报道,截至本月12日, 陆交局共收到逾1万4000份提早销毁电动踏板车的申请。 此外,本月5日起,禁止电动滑板车上行人道,这一波的禁令却引发送餐员的不满,纷纷表示禁令反而减少了收入。交通部高级政务部长蓝彬明则于12日与送餐员展开对话,但仍无法平息送餐员怒火,解决他们的困境。