Twelve sailors have died and another three are feared dead, after two separate fatal collisions in the Singapore Strait.

The probe into both accidents, which happened in the early morning when visibility was reduced, will have to address key questions. Is the Singapore Strait more accident-prone than other sea lanes? If it is, are there enough measures in place to mitigate the risks? Is enough being done to drive home the safety message to ship owners and crew? Is there more the Singapore authorities can do?

To say that the Singapore Strait is busy is an “understatement”, says Dr Collin Koh, research fellow at the Maritime Security Programme of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. “It’s not just dense in traffic, but we are looking at numerous vessels of wildly varying sizes plying the same narrow water space”, he pointed out, adding that navigating the lane becomes even more challenging when visibility is low.