Cable Layer Holed in Collision with Boxship off Pakistan
Officials in Pakistan are investigating to understand what happened overnight on May 28 when a cable ship and a containership maneuvering outside the port of Karachi collided. No one was injured, but there are reports that containers have fallen overboard, and the hull of the cable ship is holed, and it is showing significant damage.
The cable ship Niwa (7,900 dwt) is owned and managed from the UAE. The ship, which is 146 meters (479 feet) in length, was underway, maneuvering toward the port of Karachi. The ship was built in 1991 and was arriving from Salalah, Oman.
A Turkish-owned containership, Papu (38,000 dwt), was outbound from Karachi to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The ship is registered in Liberia and has a capacity of 2,700 TEU. It was built in 2008 and is 215 meters (705 feet) in length.
Government officials and the port authority report that the collision took place outside the port near an anchorage. Port tugs quickly responded and escorted the holed cable ship to a dock in Karachi while the containership was instructed to hold in the anchorage. There are no reports of damage to the containership, but media reports indicate an undetermined number of containers went overboard.
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Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said the authorities were assessing the structural damage to both ships and evaluating the environmental impact, but that operations in the port were continuing as normal. He said the initial information suggested negligence on the part of the masters of both vessels.
The containership was cited by Chinese officials in November 2025 for 17 deficiencies during a Port State inspection. Among the issues listed were the auxiliary engine and the condition of the steering gear.