by Lloyd's List

12 August (Lloyd's List) - THE latest containership cargo fire has triggered China’s Maritime Safety Administration to urge better risk prevention, requesting companies to “resolutely curb” such accidents following the Yang Ming boxship blast.

In a notice to carriers and shippers, the administration called for “strict prevention of fires, explosions and other accidents involving dangerous goods on ships triggered by high temperatures”.

An explosion occurred on the Liberia-flagged YM Mobility (IMO: 9457737) at China’s Ningbo port last Friday after hazardous materials caught fire.

State-owned China Central Television, citing relevant authorities, said initial judgements suggest the explosive materials included t-butyl peroxybenzoate and lithium batteries.

“The exact cause of the incident remains to be clarified under professional assessment,” said Yang Ming in its latest incident update on August 10.

It added there were no visible flames on board and cooling efforts with water sprays were ongoing. All crew members and on-site personnel were reportedly safe.

The most recent big containership fire disaster occurred in May 2021, when a blaze on X-Press Pearl (IMO: 9875343) led to the ship’s sinking in Sri Lanka’s worst-ever environmental disaster.

The fire was believed to have been triggered by a chemical leak from a container carrying hazardous goods including nitric acid.

While there has not been a rash of such large incidents, there are reports of small-scale fires, and of the misdeclarations that often cause them.

CMSA said the industry needed to learn lessons from several containership fires this year, including those on Northern Juvenile (IMO: 9450349) in May and Maersk Frankfurt (IMO: 9969065) in July.

Shippers are required to take safety measures including proper packaging and temperature control, and promptly notify carriers of correct dangerous goods names, quantities, hazards, emergency temperatures (if needed), and emergency response measures.

Shipping firms must also continue improving onboard dangerous goods safety management, enhancing dangerous cargo stowage oversight, strictly reviewing cargo safety data, and strengthening safety operation management when ships sail, berth and load.

Yang Ming said it was actively coordinating with authorities and experts for an immediate response.

“Once the incident is fully resolved, Yang Ming will assess the possibility and feasibility of vessel repairs, cargo transshipment, and schedule adjustments, with the safety of personnel and the vessel as the top priority.”

The vessel was deployed on Yang Ming's CGX service connecting Asia and the Middle East. Slot sharing partners on the service also include Yang Ming, Cosco Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, HMM and Ocean Network Express.

The ship was originally scheduled to depart on August 10 for China’s Xiamen and Shekou, before proceeding to the Middle East.