Update: Tugboat to Tow Hapag-Lloyd’s Disabled Boxship to Halifax

Tugboat Maersk Mobilizer will help tow Yantian Express, Hapag Lloyd’s disabled containership, to Halifax, Nova Scotia, the US Coast Guard said.

On January 7, 2019, the 95-meter-long tugboat was en route to the 7,506 TEU boxship which was some 1,015 miles northeast of Bermuda, according to the USCG.

The German-flagged container vessel caught fire on January 3 while it was sailing from Colombo to Halifax. The fire started in one container aboard the ship and spread to additional containers.

Efforts to extinguish the fire were launched on the same day but they were hampered by bad weather conditions.

During the weekend, the ship’s crew members were evacuated to the tugboat Smit Nicobar after the fire increased in intensity.

The USCG said the tugboat remained on scene, providing firefighting assistance.

“We’ve been monitoring the situation to provide as much assistance as possible and keeping in open communication,” Chief Petty Officer Ryan Langley, operations unit watchstander at the Fifth District command center, said.