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Fire-damaged Yantian Express en route to Bahamas

Kim Link Wills
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Recovery work and damage assessment will be conducted at the Port of Freeport.    Hapag-Lloyd said Friday the Yantian Express, crippled by a container fire that broke out on Jan. 3, is en route to the Port of Freeport in the Bahamas for recovery work and damage assessment.
   As of Friday morning, the Yantian Express was about 1,250 nautical miles from the Bahamas and is expected to arrive in Freeport next week, Hapag-Lloyd said.
   Hapag-Lloyd said the containership is sailing under its own power with a tug escort.
   “It is still not possible to make a precise estimate of any damage to the Yantian Express or its cargo. Hapag-Lloyd is working in close cooperation with all relevant authorities,” the ocean liner said. 
   However, general average has been declared, meaning that all stakeholders will share the losses. Hapag-Lloyd said in a statement that details of the general average process will be provided in the customer information section of its website.
   The 7,510-TEU Yantian Express was on its way from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Halifax, Nova Scotia via the Suez Canal when a fire broke out in one container on the deck of the ship and then spread to additional containers.
   All 23 crew members were evacuated the next day, and no injuries were reported.
   In a notice to customers on Jan. 10, Hapag-Lloyd said, “Based on the currently available information, we have to assume that all cargo in Bay 12 on deck and forward is directly affected by the fire, also all cargo in Hold 1 (Bay 1 to 9). Further, we have to expect that all cargo in Hold 2 (Bay 11 to 17) is affected by fire, smoke and/or damage caused by firefighting water. Damage caused by smoke, heat and/or firefighting water in adjacent areas is possible.”
   Hapag-Lloyd said the blaze was largely contained and brought under control a week after firefighting efforts began.
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Kim Link Wills

Senior Editor Kim Link-Wills has written about everything from agriculture as a reporter for Illinois Agri-News to zoology as editor of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Her work has garnered awards from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Magazine Association of the Southeast. Prior to serving as managing editor of American Shipper, Kim spent more than four years with XPO Logistics.