By: OrePulse

The Liberian-flagged container ship HMM Platinum was steaming toward a South African port of refuge on October 13, more than a week after fire broke out among its cargo containers while the vessel was crossing the Indian Ocean off southern Madagascar.

The 2013-built vessel, with a published capacity of 5,593 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) and a tonnage of 52,467 gross tons, was carrying about 2,300 containers when the blaze ignited around October 7, according to claims adjuster W.E. Cox Claims Group. The ship, identified by its International Maritime Organization number, 9637155, had departed the Indian port of Kattupalli on September 27 on a voyage to Santos, Brazil, when the fire forced it to divert toward the African coast.

Durban was initially identified as the intended port of refuge, but Port Elizabeth has since emerged as an alternative, and the vessel's final destination remained unsettled as of the latest reports. W.E. Cox said Port Elizabeth was seen as more likely to have the open berth capacity needed to receive the ship, a factor that could decide where it is ultimately permitted to call.

Tracking data from MarineTraffic placed the vessel on October 13 approaching the KwaZulu-Natal coast northeast of Richards Bay, with its automatic identification system showing a status of "restricted manoeuvrability," a designation used for ships whose ability to maneuver is limited by the nature of their work. Firefighting aboard the ship was reported to be continuing at that time, more than six days after the blaze was first detected.

Operator HMM reported that the entire crew escaped unharmed, with no injuries linked to the blaze. The company added that the vessel's propulsion and navigation equipment kept functioning normally despite the ongoing fire, letting it proceed under its own power toward the South African coast.

A SMIT salvage team has reportedly taken on the operation under a Lloyd's Open Form contract, the industry-standard arrangement used in major maritime casualties under which a salvor is paid only if its efforts succeed, with the amount later fixed through arbitration.

W.E. Cox said the casualty could result in a General Average declaration. Such a declaration, used in maritime law when extraordinary measures are taken to save a ship and its cargo from a common danger, would require all cargo owners aboard to share proportionally in the resulting costs, regardless of whether their own containers were damaged, and could require them to post financial security before their goods are released. No formal declaration had been made as of the latest available reports, according to W.E. Cox.

Cargo interests have been warned that deliveries from the vessel are likely to be delayed as a result of the casualty.

W.E. Cox said containers stowed near the fire may have sustained damage from heat, smoke or water used during firefighting operations, though the full extent of any such damage had not yet been determined and would depend on the eventual survey of the vessel and its cargo.