Three injured in bulker vessel Olivia explosion
-
Posted by Dale Crisp
- |
-
27 May, 2025
NEW ZEALAND’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission is conducting a “serious marine casualty” level inquiry into an engine room explosion aboard a bulk carrier berthed at South Port, Bluff.
The explosion or flashback occurred last Saturday [24 May] aboard the Malta-flagged Olivia and injured three crewmembers, two seriously, during boiler maintenance.
The fire had been extinguished by the time brigades arrived but St Johns Ambulance and Fire & Emergency NZ treated the casualties on site before they were transferred to the Southland Hospital.
The 20,928 GT Olivia, built in 2013 and initially chartered to Lauritzen Bulkers, arrived at Bluff on 22 April from Bintulu in Malaysia and was loading logs at Berth 11, from which it was scheduled to depart tomorrow [29 May].
Equasis lists the registered owner as Neco Maritime Ltd, with commercial management from GSD Denizcilik Gayrimenkul Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret AS of Istanbul.
TAIC has classified the incident as a ‘serious marine casualty’ under the International Maritime Organization’s Casualty Investigation Code.
South Port, the southernmost commercial port in New Zealand, handles over 3.2 million tonnes of cargo annually and recorded 131 calls by large vessels during the first half of the 2024-2025 year.
