The 8,700 TEU container ship Maersk Londrina caught fire while en route from Malaysia to Brasil on April 25, forcing the vessel to divert to Mauritius, Maersk’s Senior Press Officer Michael Christian Storgaard confirmed to World Maritime News.
The 2012-built boxship was en route from Tanjung Pelepas to Santos when the fire was discovered in one of its cargo holds some 700 nautical miles off Port Louis, Mauritius.
According to Storgaard, the fire was quickly controlled, but due to the location of the fire and the continuous albeit declining presence of heat, the Hong Kong-flagged vessel changed course and arrived in Port Louis on April 27.
In Port Louis the fire was fully extinguished and investigations to establish the reason and extent of damage have been initiated.
”The crew is safe, there have been no injuries, and there has been no environmental impact. We have informed the crew’s relatives,” Storgaard told WMN.
”We are working on a contingency plan for the cargo on board the vessel, and we are keeping the affected customers informed.”
World Maritime News Staff