Fire blazing aboard Hyundai ship
A fire broke out Tuesday morning aboard the 5,551-TEU containership “Hyundai Fortune” in the Gulf of Aden about 140 miles offshore from the port of Aden.
The Dutch Nay frigate “Zeven Provincien” rescued all members of the 32 crew. One crew member was injured.
SvitzerWijsmuller Salvage said the fire is still burning fiercely and that one of its firefighting tugs arrived at the ship Wednesday afternoon to assess the site.
“The work is concentrated at the moment on the first line of containers in front of the bridge, with the fire having progressed from the stern through the accommodation to the containers on the fore ship. The aim at the moment is to stop the fire progressing before actually attacking the fire in the accommodation and the stern when further resources are on site,” SvitzerWijsmuller Salvage said.
The “Hyundai Fortune” was traveling to Europe from Asia on the New World Alliance’s AEX loop. Yang Ming and the Grand Alliance carrier’s Hapag-Lloyd, NYK, OOCL and MISC all take slots on the weekly service.
Hyundai has made no official statement about what caused the fire but reports suggest that seven containers of fireworks were in some way responsible.