‘Hotspots’ Continue to Burn on Maersk Honam

Updated: July 26, 2022 (Originally published April 13, 2018)

Mediterranean Shipping Company has provided an update to its customers into the situation aboard the ultra-large containership Maersk Honam following the devastating fire broke out aboard the ship more than a month ago in the Arabian Sea.

MSC is Maersk’s partner in the 2M alliance.

The Maersk Honam is currently being towed to Jebel Ali, where salvage operations will take place and cargo will be off-loaded.

According to MSC’s update, released Thursday, Maersk Honam’s current position is 22° 46.0’N 063° 11.5’E, approximately halfway between Muscat and Karachi, in the northern Arabian Sea.

The firefighting and cooling operations are ongoing, with various hotspots remaining, MSC said.

“We will only be able to clarify the situation once the cargo has been discharged and inspected but we can now provide to the owners of cargoes that were stored in the holds 1 to 3 some certificate of total loss if requested. MSC is providing you with draft wording of such a certificate in a separate document for your easy reference,” the update said.

“For the other cargoes, insurers should prepare the required GA and Salvage security bonds (when supplied by the General Average Adjusters), as those documents will be essential for the cargoes to reach their final destinations and be released under General Average,” MSC said.

As has been reported previously, the substantial cargo loss has forced Maersk to declare general average. The basic concept of GA is that all losses, including salvage, port, and transfer costs, are shared between surviving cargo.

“As the salvage operations are still ongoing, the General Adjuster is not yet in position to finalise his request for Salvage security bonds, but we will relay them to you as soon as known,” the company added.

The 353-meter Maersk Honam caught fire on March 6 in the Arabian Sea, claiming the lives of five crew members. The vessel reported by Maersk to be carrying a total of 7,860 containers, corresponding to 12,416 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent).

The Singapore-flagged vessel was only recently delivered in 2017 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea. It has a nominal capacity of 15,262 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit).

With the Maersk Honam are the tugs Maersk Involver, Posh Perseverance and Amazon Chieftan Z.

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