Container Ship En Route To Spain Diverts Course After Smoke Detected In Containers

The Danish-flagged container ship Rhine Maersk was forced to reroute to the port of Tenerife after its crew members spotted high temperatures and smoke in containers carrying combustible cargo.

The vessel en route from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, to Algeciras, Spain, immediately rerouted north to Tenerife after realising the risk.

Maersk responded, saying that the crew reacted quickly and followed all the necessary precautions to control the situation. They worked effectively to stabilize the ship before docking, with all the machinery, navigation and steering fully operational.

After being notified, the Tenerife emergency responders and the local fire department were able to extinguish the fire with water and cool those nearby to prevent the fire from spreading.

Thirteen containers were safely unloaded at the Tenerife Container Terminal (TCT), according to Spanish media.

A Maersk representative informed WorldCargo News that the ship and crew were unharmed and that the affected containers had been removed from the ship.

Once a thorough assessment of the ship is confirmed, the Rhine Maersk will resume its journey to Port Tangier Med.

Container fires continue to pose a serious risk to the shipping industry. Per the insurance provider Allianz, container ship fire continue to occur every 60 days, despite a 50% decline in overall vessel losses over the last decade.

Last year, Senior Marine Risk Consultant Captain Andrew Kinsey said that regulations and guidelines for dangerous cargo exist but are not adequately enforced.

AGCS, Allianz’s Marine division, has brought attention to problems with misdeclared and inadequately packaged goods.

In a similar incident, another Maersk ship, the Maersk Frankfurt, burned for four days off the Indian coast in July, killing a crew member onboard.

Reference: World Cargo News