Hapag-Lloyd Discharges Fire-Damaged Yantian Express Containers

All Yantian Express containers affected by the fire have been discharged from the vessel, German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd informed.

Specifically, offloaded were boxes in the fire impacted areas in way of cargo holds 1 and 2 – on and under deck.

The company is currently working on a solution to transship these containers which cannot be reloaded back on the vessel.

In addition, the company is still searching for a terminal where it could offload the undamaged containers.

“Presently, the plan is for the balance of the undamaged cargo to remain on board the Yantian Express, which will depart Freeport once needed repairs are finalized,” Hapag-Lloyd said in its latest update.

“The final port of call for the vessel is still to be nominated,” the company added.

As World Maritime News earlier reported, the 7,506 TEU containership suffered a fire in the North Atlantic, around 650 nautical miles off the Canadian coast on January 4. After the fire increased in its intensity, the ship’s crew members were evacuated two days later.

In February, the 2002-built boxship berthed in Freeport, Bahamas, to undergo the evaluation process and prepare for cargo discharge. Around 200 containers have been identified as a total loss.