Large MSC Containership Suffers Fire Off Sri Lanka

Photo courtesy Sri Lankan MoD

Another mishap involving a large containership to report today…

This story coming from Sri Lanka where a fire broke out aboard the MSC Daniela, a 13,798 TEU containership belonging to Mediterranean Shipping Company.

The fire started in the ship’s cargo area on Tuesday as the ship was about 120 nautical miles off Colombo, Sri Lanka. Firefighting continued into Wednesday as the ship was brought closer to shore. All 22 crew members are reported safe.

MSC confirmed Wednedsay that the fire had been extinguished and an investigation launched.

“MSC is currently in discussion with the local authorities to berth the vessel at the appropriate time. Once the ship is considered safe, an investigation into the cause of the fire will be formally initiated. The extent of the damage and cargo losses will not be known until the vessel has safely berthed and has undergone a thorough inspection,” MSC said.

The Sri Lankan Coast Guard, Navy, and Indian Navy, along with smaller craft and commercial tugboats, participated in the rescue operation.

For a short time in 2008 the MSC Daniela held the title as the world’s largest containership by TEU carrying capacity. The vessel has an overall length of 366 meters, a beam of 51 meters, and is able to accommodate up to 14,000 twenty-foot-equivalent containers.

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