March 7, 2018 - A Maersk container vessel is on fire in the Arabian Sea with four crew members missing, the Danish cargo shipping line said late Tuesday.
The Maersk Honam was enroute from Singapore to the Suez Canal when a fire broke out in its cargo hull some 1,000 miles off Oman.
A.P. Moller-Maersk, the world's largest container operator in terms of capacity, said 23 crew members were evacuated to a nearby vessel called ALS Ceres after sending a distress signal.
"The fire onboard the Maersk Honam continues and the situation on the vessel is very critical," the company said.
The 15,000-container ship was half full with 7,680 boxes. The cause of the fire was unknown.
Three other ships in the vicinity were diverting from their routes and were expected to reach the burning ship early Wednesday.
BDP International has been actively engaged to determine the status of any potential impact to our customers. We have concluded that no customer cargo was on board the Maersk Honam at the time of the fire. As always, please reach out to your local BDP representative should you have any questions or concerns.
Source: Excerpted from The Wall Street Journal
