Bulk Carrier Aquacharm Collides with Pier Under Construction in Vietnam

The bulk carrier Aquacharm collided on Sunday, October 18, with a section of pier still under construction while maneuvering to berth at the port of Dung Quat, in central Vietnam, near Da Nang. The impact caused significant damage to both the vessel's hull and the port structure, although no injuries among the crew or pollutant spills were reported.

The Aquacharm is a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier built in 2022, with a length overall of 292 meters and a beam of 45 meters, and a gross registered tonnage of 93,297. According to Maritime Executive, the vessel has a deadweight of 182,000 tonnes and is Japanese-owned, while Baird Maritime cites a figure of 183,209 DWT. The ship had arrived at Dung Quat on October 14 from Port Hedland, Australia, carrying 170,856 tonnes of iron ore and with 22 crew members on board.

The vessel had been waiting for berth space and took a pilot on board on the afternoon of October 18 to proceed to berth number 10 of the Hoa Phat Dung Quat steel complex. According to Maritime Executive, the maneuver began around 16:45, with the collision occurring an hour later and final berthing around 18:30. Baird Maritime places the impact at around 17:45 local time and berthing at 18:30, while the Vietnamese border guard, cited by marinetraffic_maritimenews, reported that the collision occurred around 12:45.

A preliminary inspection found a tear of about 5 meters in the vessel's bow, with damage on both sides of the hull but above the waterline, with no tanks affected and no pollution caused. The damaged pier extension measured about 50 meters and was located between berths 10 and 11. According to Baird Maritime, Hoa Phat reported that the ore cargo was subsequently discharged and that, despite the impact at berth 10, the port's other eleven berths remained operational.

Quang Ngai maritime authorities opened an investigation with an eight-person team led by deputy director Phan Duc Cuong. A preliminary report from the Dung Quat border guard station, cited by marinetraffic_maritimenews and Baird Maritime, suggests that the master failed to control the vessel's speed due to communication errors, although the border guard itself maintains that the speed was reported to the pilot on several occasions, and it proposed strengthening oversight of pilotage activities. On October 20, given the rainy and stormy season and strong northeast monsoon winds, authorities ordered that at least one tugboat with azimuth thrusters of over 5,000 hp, equipped for spill response, firefighting, rescue and salvage, be permanently stationed alongside the Aquacharm during its departure from the berth, its transfer to the anchorage, and its entire stay there.