Container Ship Fire! Vessel Called at Multiple Chinese Ports; Severe Losses May Trigger General Average

An HMM container ship, which previously called at ports including Qingdao, Ningbo and Shenzhen, caught fire en route to South America. The vessel has diverted to seek refuge in South Africa. Heavy losses are anticipated. Further assessment of vessel and cargo damages may lead to salvage operations and General Average (GA) afterwards.

UK marine claims adjuster W.E. Cox Claims Group issued consecutive advisories on October 7 and 8, reporting a recent fire onboard the HMM-operated vessel HMM PLATINUM. The ship was sailing from Kattupalli, India to Santos, Brazil. The fire broke out between late September and early October. The official cause of the fire and the extent of damage to the vessel and cargo have not yet been released. However, severe losses may trigger General Average (GA).

The vessel has diverted to South Africa.

Records show that the vessel HMM PLATINUM has IMO No. 9637155. Built in 2013, it flies the flag of Liberia. The vessel is approximately 255 meters in length with a capacity of 5,023 TEU. According to HMM’s official fleet data, its gross tonnage is 52,467, and it is mainly deployed on HMM’s Asia and India services.

After the fire broke out, instead of proceeding to the original destination port of Santos, the ship diverted to Durban, South Africa, which serves as a port of refuge. W.E. Cox previously estimated that the vessel would arrive in Durban on October 8.

Up to now, public information has not disclosed the exact location of the fire, nor any casualties among the crew. Further inspection and assessment are required to confirm the specific damage to the vessel and containers onboard.

Previously called at multiple Chinese ports

Based on public vessel tracking data, HMM PLATINUM made calls at several Chinese ports during this voyage.

The vessel arrived in Qingdao on August 29 and departed on August 30; it reached Busan New Port on September 2 and left on September 3; it completed operations and departed Ningbo on September 10; subsequently, it arrived in Shenzhen on September 14 and sailed away on September 15.

Vessel traffic data released by Hong Kong’s maritime authority also shows that HMM PLATINUM entered Hong Kong waters on September 14.

The vessel then proceeded to Singapore and Kattupalli Port, India. Public sailing schedule records of Kattupalli Port indicate that HMM PLATINUM arrived at the port on September 22.

This means shippers and freight forwarders whose cargo was loaded on this voyage from the above ports for South America should verify container numbers and cargo status as soon as possible.

Around 2,300 Containers Onboard; Heavy Losses Expected

On October 8, W.E. Cox released the latest accident update, stating that HMM PLATINUM carries approximately 2,300 containers and heavy losses are anticipated. Meanwhile, salvage operations have commenced under LOF (Lloyd's Open Form).

Notably, W.E. Cox advises that this incident may trigger General Average (GA). If General Average is formally declared, affected cargo interests will need to provide salvage and GA security before cargo release.

General Average has not been officially declared yet. The final decision on whether to initiate GA and the handling arrangements are subject to further confirmation from the shipowner, salvors and all relevant parties.