by Alkis Konstantinidis (Reuters) - A passenger ferry with 1,016 people onboard returned safely to the port of Piraeus in the early hours on Wednesday after it reported a fire while en route to Crete, the Greek coast guard said. There were no immediate reports of injuries, a coast guard official told Reuters. The Eleftherios Venizelos, carrying 875 passengers and 141 … [Read more...]
Burning Container Ship Grounds, Partially Sinks Off India
Things are not looking up for an Indian containership which suffered an explosion and fire more than three weeks ago in the Bay of Bengal off the east coast of India. Shreyas Shipping and Logistics, which operates the vessel, reports the vessel is now aground and more explosions have been heard on board the ship as the fire continues to burn. The incident started on June … [Read more...]
Port Kembla Reopens After Bulker Blaze
by Nick Ford (Reuters) - A fire in the hold of a bulker ship on Monday briefly closed Australia’s Port Kembla, the second-largest coal export port in New South Wales state, stopping shipping for eight hours. The port was shut soon after the blaze began before dawn on the MV Iron Chieftain as it unloaded dolomite, a mineral used in steelmaking which was destined for BlueScope … [Read more...]
Containership Abandoned in Bay of Bengal Due to Major Fire
The Indian Coast Guard has rescued all 22 crew member of a containership following a major fire aboard the vessel while about 50 miles off the coast of India in the Bay of Bengal. The India-flagged SSL Kolkata reported fire just after midnight on Thursday. The fire was reportedly caused by an explosion in one of the shipping containers and later spread to about 60 other … [Read more...]
Self-Igniting Charcoal ID’d as Source of Two Containership Fires
Investigators in Germany are calling on the International Maritime Organization to update regulations related to the carriage of charcoal cargoes in containers after separate fires on board two containerships. In both cases, the self-ignition of charcoal cargoes was found to be the source of the fires. The fires broke out on board the Panamanian-flagged MSC Katrina on … [Read more...]