The container ship HMM St Petersburg and an oil tanker collided on Tuesday, 3 December, in the Strait of Gibraltar, approximately 8.9 miles southeast of Algeciras, Spain. Despite the impact, no injuries or environmental damage were reported.

The vessels involved were the Gloria Maris, a Liberia-registered crude oil tanker with 25 crew members, and the HMM St Petersburg, a South Korea-registered container ship operated by HMM, with 24 crew members.

Spain’s maritime rescue agency, Salvamento Marítimo, confirmed the incident and dispatched two patrol boats to assess the situation.

The Gloria Maris notified Spain’s Rescue Coordination Centre in Tarifa at 5:20 a.m. local time.

Inspections revealed structural damage to both vessels: the tanker’s bow was significantly crushed, while a dent was observed on the starboard side of the container ship near its bridge. However, both vessels remained seaworthy.

At the time of the collision, the Gloria Maris was sailing in ballast (without cargo) after unloading 147,564t of crude oil in Cartagena, Spain, on 30 November. It was bound for Gibraltar.

The HMM St Petersburg, one of the world’s largest container ships with a capacity of 23,964 TEU, was en route to Europe from Yantian, China, following a six-week voyage. The HMM St Petersburg was built in 2020 by Samsung Heavy Industries.

After determining there was no immediate danger, the Maritime Captaincy of Algeciras directed the HMM St Petersburg to dock at its berth in Algeciras.

At the same time, the Gloria Maris was ordered to anchor at a designated location. Both vessels are currently detained for further inspection and investigation by safety inspectors to determine the cause of the collision.

Salvamento Marítimo shared footage showing the extent of the damage to the Gloria Maris. Initial reports confirmed that neither vessel posed an environmental risk, and there were no injuries among the crew members.