Five weeks to unload damaged Yantian Express cargo

Cargo undamaged by the early January fire cannot be discharged in the Bahamas and a containerized terminal berth in the vicinity may not have enough capacity.

   The discharge of damaged cargo from the containership Yantian Express is expected to take five weeks, said Ocean Network Express, an alliance member of ship owner Hapag-Lloyd, Monday in a customer advisory.
   According to the advisory, operations to unload the cargo damaged by an early January fire onboard the ship were ongoing at a facility in Freeport, Bahamas. Undamaged cargo, however, cannot be discharged at the 7,150-TEU vessel’s current location, which is a temporary yard meant to handle only the distressed cargo, ONE said.
   Although there is a containerized terminal berth “in the vicinity,” according to the advisory, the terminal may not have sufficient capacity for sound cargo. 
   “Alternative options are currently being investigated,” ONE said.
   The Yantian Express was scheduled to arrive at the Port of New York and New Jersey on Jan. 6, but a fire broke out on its container stacks, which spread to additional containers, three days earlier. The fire resulted in either fire or water damage to the ship and a portion of the cargo.
   In February, ONE said the discharge of distressed containers could take up to two months once operations began.