Bulk Carrier Explodes off Bermuda, Filipino Sailor Suffers Full Body Burns

With a full cargo of coal destined for Karachi, Pakistan, the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Sea Moon was about 140 miles southwest of Bermuda when an explosion occurred in one of her cargo holds at 3:05pm on Friday.  One of the ship’s Filipino crewmembers was lost overboard during the incident, and subsequently recovered via the vessel’s fast rescue craft.

With the recovered sailor suffering full-body burns, the ship notified the Bermuda Maritime Operations Center announcing their intention to divert for medical evacuation and that their cargo was stable with no signs of fire.

In a statement by the Bermuda Marine Operations Center, “The Sea Moon arrived off the east end of Bermuda at 2:45am on the morning of Saturday 29th September and local authorities boarded her in company with a doctor. The casualty was stretcher transferred to the pilot boat St David and conveyed to Ordnance Island where an ambulance was waiting to take him to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The ship is presently at anchor 1.5 miles east of St David’s Lighthouse where she will remain until company representatives and surveyors have inspected her.”

Sea Moon is owned by Athens-based, Hellenic Star Shipping, was built in 2009 by Qingshan Shipyard, and is classed by Bureau Veritas.

Updated: October 1, 2012 (Originally published September 29, 2012)

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