Charlotte Maersk Ready in August


Maersk Line expects to return the Charlotte Maersk to service in August after repairs are made to the container ship that caught fire this month in the waters near Malaysia, the carrier said.


Maersk said some containers also were damaged in the fire, which broke out on the 6,600-TEU ship on July 8, and that containers that were not damaged were offloaded last week after the ship was berthed at Malaysia’s Tanjung Pelepas port.


The carrier and authorities there, meanwhile, are investigating the cause of the blaze, which took several days to bring under full control.


“Maersk Line is investigating the cause of the fire, but there is absolutely no indication that it was caused by an explosive device,” said Marie-Louise Moller, a spokesperson for A.P. Moller-Maersk in Copenhagen.


An initial investigation indicated damage done to hatch covers, lashing bridges and cabling. Repairs were started immediately with a view to having the ship in service next month.


At the height of the blaze, containers were burning at 1,832 degrees Fahrenheit. There were no reported injuries among the 21 members of the crew.


The ship, built at A.P. Moller-Maersk Odense Steel Shipyard in 2002, was assigned to Maersk’s service between Asia and Europe, and had left Port Klang and was heading to Salalah, Oman, when fire broke out on containers stored on the foredeck.


 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *