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freighter laden with steel pipes cut through the traffic separation scheme (TSS) onto the western lane off Batam and collided with another freighter carrying chemicals on Wednesday evening.

The collision caused the MV Thorco Cloud, laden with pipes, to sink. Six of its Filipino crew members are missing. Indonesia'€™s port authority remains on standby to prevent any pollution that may occur as a consequence of the accident, as does Singapore'€™s port authority.

Batam Port Authority Office head Gajah Rooseno told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the mishap had occurred when the Antigua-flag carrying MV Thorco Cloud, that had departed the Batu Ampar Port in Batam for Durban, South Africa, cut through the TTS into the western lane, around two miles north of Sambu Island, Batam.

At this time, the Cayman Island flag carrier MV Stolt Commitment, laden with liquid chemicals, had been travelling the western lane from Singapore to Kao Shiung, Taiwan. The accident sank MV Thorco Cloud and ripped the stern of the MV Stolt Commitment.