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202 Containers on Board Fire-Stricken Yantian Express a Total Loss
A total of 202 containers have been identified to most likely be a total loss due to the fire which broke out last month on board Hapag-Lloyd’s containership Yantian Express according to the latest update released by Hapag-Lloyd on February 14.
The cargo in the 202 containers will not be inspected and will be sent for destruction once offloaded from the vessel, Richards Hogg Lindley (RHL) as General Average and Salvage Adjusters said in an update.
An additional 460 containers which were stored in the affected area have been identified and require inspection.
“Door end inspections of the 460 containers will take place in Freeport, but we do not know at this stage when discharge operations or surveys will begin,” the companies added.
The containers onboard the Germany-flagged boxship were damaged after Yantian Express caught fire when sailing from Colombo to Halifax on January 3.
The 7,506 TEU boxship reached Freeport in the Bahamas last week for the evaluation process.
“Preparations have been underway with the local authorities, salvers and other interested parties to arrange for the discharge of all containers in the forward most portion of the vessel, in which the fire occurred,” according to Hapag-Lloyd.
As informed, it is unlikely that discharge of the containers will commence before the second half of this week.
ONE Sets Container Loading Record of 19,000 TEUs
MOL Tribute, a containership operated by Ocean Network Express (ONE), has set a loading record of 19,190 TEUs (including 38 TEUs void slots).
The 20,170 TEU MOL Tribute achieved the record on its Singapore westbound departure to North Europe on February 11, 2019, and it was the first time for ONE to surpass 19,000 TEUs containers onboard.
The large container vessel (ULCV) is deployed in ONE’s Far East Loop 2 (FE2) service in THE Alliance (THEA).
With a length of 400 meters and a width of 58.8 meters, the Marshall Islands-flagged MOL Tribute has a gross tonnage of 210,678 tons. It was built at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in South Korea in 2017.
The previous loading record of 18,767 TEUs was set by MOL Tradition in late December 2018. The boxship which also operates in the FE2 service, achieved the record on its Singapore westbound departure on December 29, 2018.
APL Vancouver Cleared to Continue Its Voyage
The fire-stricken containership APL Vancouver was cleared for departure on February 12 and is on its way to Singapore.
The ship’s operator APL said that the 2013-built vessel continued the voyage following inspections by the salvage team and class surveyor.
APL added that additional safety measures have been provided for its voyage to Singapore, including an escort tug.
“The incident on board the vessel has been brought to an end with swift emergency response by its crew and immediate salvage operations that were activated.”
“All crew onboard has remained safe and no pollution has resulted from the situation.”
A full investigation will be undertaken to determine the cause of the incident on the 115,060 dwt boxship, the operator informed.
The Singapore-flagged vessel suffered fire in the early morning hours of January 31, while it was sailing from Shekou to Singapore. APL Vancouver was being attended by the Vietnamese Maritime Rescue Coordinating Center, fire fighters, firefighting tugs and a salvage master.
Source: World Maritime News
