Crew of Yantian Express rescued as blaze continues

The Yantian Express’ crew of eight officers and 15 seafarers have been removed from the ship after failed attempts to control a blaze that broke out on 3rd January. No injuries were reported.

The fire started in one of the Yantian Express’ containers when the vessel was about 800 nautical miles off the Canadian coast. Hapag-Lloyd, the owner, blamed adverse weather conditions for thwarted efforts to contain the blaze.

The 7,500 teu, 320 metres vessel was on its way from Colombo to Halifax, Nova Scotia, via the Suez Canal. It’s now being towed to Halifax while tug boats fire water cannons at it, including the Smit Nicobar, which is the tug to which crew were evacuated.

Incidents like this have gained more scrutiny in recent years. Last year, the 15,000-teu Maersk Honam container ship caught fire, killing five of its 27 crew members and leading Maersk to conduct an in-depth review of stowage safety procedures.

Source: The Loadstar, Seatrade Maritime News

Header image: Boba Jovanovic