General average has been declared on the badly burnt container ship “Maersk Frankfurt” a few days ago. The containers on board will be discharged in a safe place and will not be released for the next stage of transportation and delivery until the cargo interests have made the necessary safety arrangements through the common loss adjuster, Richards Hogg Lindley.
Salvage professionals are currently on board to assist the Indian Coast Guard in surveying the damage and developing a next step plan for the vessel. According to an analysis by cargo insurer WK Webster, soot can be discerned on containers in the third and fifth rows from aerial photographs of the ship, suggesting that the fire was concentrated in the fourth row.
Previously, “Maersk Frankfurt” container ship in the Arabian Sea off the coast of India at about 14:30 local time on July 19, an explosion and fire during the voyage, resulting in the death of a crew member from the Philippines. Reuters news agency previously reported that the cause of the explosion and fire on the “Maersk Frankfurt” was a short circuit.
“Maersk Frankfurt”, owned by TOKEI KAIUN and chartered by Maersk, was completed and delivered at Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan on May 31 this year. The ship is 254.94m in length, 40.00m in breadth, 21.70m in depth, 57,872 tons in gross tonnage. It is equipped with a 6G80ME-C10.6 engine, has a speed of about 21.5 knots and is classed by Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (NK) under the Panamanian flag.
With a maximum capacity of approximately 5,920 standard containers and decks equipped with up to three lashing bridges, the container ship can carry a large number of refrigerated containers in the holds and on the decks, as well as a wide range of dangerous goods as defined in the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code.