Korean Register (KR), its Chairman, management and entire staff would like to offer their sincere sympathies to the families and loved ones of the seafarers who tragically lost their lives due to the sinking of Stellar Daisy. KR reaffirms its commitment to investigating the causes of the sinking, sharing its knowledge and implementing any changes necessary to avoid a similar loss in the future.

The facts

Stellar Daisy was a 266,141 dwt Very Large Ore Carrier (VLOC) owned by Polaris Shipping and flagged with the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). On 31 March 2017 whilst en route from Ilha Guaiba, Brazil to Qingdao and laden with iron ore fines, the ship sank in the South Atlantic Ocean around 1700 nautical miles from Uruguay and 1800 nautical miles from South Africa. The water depth was around 3800 meters.

Tragically, 22 crew members lost their lives, two were rescued.

Stellar Daisy (IMO 9038725) was built as a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) in 1993 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan and was classed with ClassNK.

In 2008, Polaris Shipping took responsibility for the ship’s commercial operation and Syncro Shipping took responsibility for the vessel’s management. In the same year, the vessel transferred class from ClassNK to KR.

The ship was converted to a VLOC in 2008 at the COSCO Shipyard in China under the supervision of KR.