Breaking news! Another accident! MSC container ship exploded and caught fire at Colombo Port
Date：2024-08-15 14:47:00 View：
On August 11, a container ship named "MSC Cape Town III" owned by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) caught fire and exploded at Jaya Terminal (JCT) in Colombo Port, Sri Lanka, which attracted widespread attention.
The ship was built in 2006 under the Portuguese flag and has a carrying capacity of 2,824 standard containers (TEU). It currently serves MSC's Dar es Salaam Express route.
When the accident occurred, the container ship was at the dock for intensive loading and unloading operations. It was originally planned to unload 995 containers and load 880 new containers.
According to Mr. H.J.K.U. Kumara, Director of Port Operations of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), the fire was initially detected during cargo operations. The port team quickly locked the source of the smoke and immediately activated the emergency plan, mobilizing all available firefighting forces to the scene for rescue.
Unfortunately, the fire quickly spread to the hatch area near the crew quarters and caused a strong explosion. The explosion occurred in an area below the deck, while the cargo on the deck surface, including some containers that had been unloaded in advance, was fortunately not directly affected by the explosion.
It is particularly noteworthy that before the explosion, there was a container of dangerous goods on board, which added complexity and urgency to the accident handling. All crew members and on-site operators were safely evacuated to a safe area.
The firefighters worked closely with other port service departments to quickly launch firefighting operations, while ensuring that the affected cargo was properly handled to prevent secondary disasters. At present, the fire has been controlled, but the cause of the fire and the damage to the cargo are still under in-depth investigation.
Recently, fires and explosions on container ships have occurred frequently. In May, the Portuguese container ship "NORTHERN JUVENILE" caught fire in the Indian Ocean. In July, the "Maersk Frankfurt" exploded and caught fire while sailing in Indian waters, killing a seaman. On August 9, an explosion occurred on the "YM Mobility" ship anchored at the container terminal of Beilun Port Area of Ningbo Zhoushan Port.
These accidents have also attracted the attention of maritime bureaus and ports in various places. The Qingdao Maritime Safety Administration has launched the "Special Inspection of Dangerous Goods in Summer" and the "Dangerous Goods Two-person Duty Inspection", focusing on cracking down on various violations, especially for high-risk dangerous goods (such as self-reactive substances, organic peroxides, temperature-controlled substances, etc.). The supervision is even stricter, requiring all related goods to provide packaging photos as a basis for review to ensure transportation safety.
This series of events once again sounded the alarm for shipping safety. The weather is hot, so cargo owners please do not conceal dangerous goods, strictly implement safety regulations, and jointly maintain the safety and stability of the shipping industry.