11 January 2023 (Lloyd's List) - TWO containerships operating on intra-Asia feeder services were involved in separate collisions at ports in Japan. The 2,000 teu capacity Evergreen-operated boxship Ever Conform was involved in an incident with the berthed 1,950 dwt general cargo ship Poteto Maru while leaving Kitakyushu port on January 10. There were no reports of significant to damage to either vessel, or their cargoes. No one was injured. Both ships have now returned to their normal operations following investigation by the Japan Coast Guard, according to a Lloyd’s Agent’s report. The 2022-built Ever Conform is on long-term time charter to Evergreen from Japanese non-operating owner Nissen Kaiun and operates in Evergreen’s ‘NSA’ feeder service from Taipei to Japan and the Philippines. The 2017-built Poteto Maru operates a Japanese coastal service and is owned by Japan’s Evah Line, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence data. In a separate incident on the same day, the 1,100 teu capacity JOSCO Alma was in collision with the 23,500 gt ro-pax ship DCL Qingdao as it was departing the port of Kobe. The 1999-built DCL Qingdao, which operates a regular ferry service between Japan and China, was alongside its berth at the time of the incident. The 2022-built JOSCO Alma is owned and operated by China’s Jiangsu Ocean Shipping and serves on a regular container line route between Japan and China. A number of containers aboard JOSCO Alma are understood to have been damaged. No one was injured. After investigation by the Japan Coast Guard, the vessel later sailed from Kobe. The cause of both collisions is unknown.