NEWS FLASH: Maersk containership catches fire after colliding with another vessel

The 4,650-TEU Safmarine Meru, the first ship on the 2M Alliance’s new TP18/Lone Star Express service, had only 400 containers on board, while the other ship, the Northern Jasper, was off-hire, according to Maersk Line officials.    Two containerships collided Saturday evening in the East China Sea, about 120 nautical miles east of Ningbo, but the crews on both ships are safe, according to the vessel operators.
   The 4,650-TEU Maersk-owned Safmarine Meru was en route from Qingdao to Ningbo in China when it collided with the Northern Jasper, an 8,814-TEU vessel owned by Norddeutsche Reederei H. Schuldt, based in Hamburg, Germany.
   Maersk said the collision caused severe damage to the Safmarine Meru and caused a fire to break out. The Danish carrier also noted the 22 crew members, which abandoned the vessel shortly after, are safe and had suffered no serious injuries. The fire is now extinguished and the ship will go to Ningbo.
   In addition, Maersk said it received confirmation that the crew on board the Northern Jasper are safe and being transferred to shore.
   For Maersk and its partner in the 2M Alliance, Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC), it is an unfortunate start to their new TP18/Lone Star Express service that will connect Asia with U.S Gulf of Mexico ports via the Panama Canal.
   The Safmarine Meru had just begun the very first leg of the first voyage in that new 2M service, sailing from Qingdao on May 4 to Ningbo.
   According to ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting, the loop operates with 10 vessels with an average capacity of 4,499 TEUs and a rotation of Qingdao, Ningbo, Shanghai, Xiamen, Yantian, Busan, Cristobal, Houston, Mobile, Miami, Balboa, Busan and Qingdao.
   The ship had less than 400 full containers on board, Maersk said.
   Michael Christian Storgaard, a senior press officer for Maersk, said that until December 2015, the Northern Jasper had also been on charter to Maersk, but, “We understand that it was currently on off-hire.”
   The Safmarine Meru was afloat and anchored on Sunday, Storgaard said. Firefighting was initiated Sunday morning local time and the fire was reported extinguished on Monday. The Chinese authorities are on the scene.  Maersk said it was cooperating with them.
   “It is too early to comment on the circumstances surrounding the collision and fire,” said Palle Brodsgaard Laursen, Maersk’s head of ship management.
   Maersk said customers with cargo on board the Safmarine Meru will be contacted directly.