SINGAPORE – Four crew members on Netherlands-flagged dredger Vox Maxima allegedly failed to perform their duties properly on June 14, causing around 400 tonnes of fuel to be leaked into the sea after an accident.

       The dredger struck stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal, which led to the worst oil spill here in a decade.

       It spread to the coastlines of East Coast Park, Labrador Nature Reserve and Sentosa, and even to the Johor coastline in Kota Tinggi.

       Water activities at the affected beaches here were suspended as the areas were being cleaned.

       The four Dutchmen – Merijn Heidema, 25; Martin Hans Sinke, 48; Richard Ouwehand, 49; and Eric Peijpers, 55 – were each handed a charge under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 on Nov 6.

       On June 14, Vox Maxima suffered a sudden loss of engine and steering control before it hit Marine Honour.

       At the time of the incident, Ouwehand was the master of Vox Maxima, while Sinke was the officer in charge of the navigational watch.

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       They are accused of failing to ensure that emergency steering was carried out when emergency power was supplied to the vessel’s steering gear pumps, resulting in the accident.

       Heidema and Peijpers were then officers in charge of the engineering watch. The pair had allegedly failed to ensure that when the engine room was put in a standby condition, an adequate reserve of power was available for Vox Maxima’s steering gear.

       The cases involving the four of them have been adjourned to Dec 4.