By: OrePulse

The Liberian-flagged container ship HMM Platinum is seeking a port of refuge in South Africa after a fire broke out aboard the vessel while it was sailing from Kattupalli, India, to Santos, Brazil, according to maritime casualty advisories.

The 5,593 TEU ship, built in 2013 and operated by South Korean carrier HMM, caught fire in a container reported to be off southern Madagascar. A separate cargo-claims notice, issued by adjusting firm WK Webster, placed the location more precisely off Lavanono, near the southern tip of Madagascar. The exact point of origin within the vessel has not been confirmed [uncertain].

Salvage company SMIT has been engaged to assist the HMM Platinum under Lloyd's Open Form, a widely used "no cure, no pay" salvage contract under which salvors are rewarded according to the value of the property they save, with the amount usually set later through arbitration. Casualty advisories indicated that the vessel's owner is likely to declare general average. Under that mechanism, a ship's owner, its insurers, and cargo interests share proportionally in costs incurred to protect the vessel and its cargo from a common danger, such as a fire at sea.

Adjusting firm W.E. Cox said the HMM Platinum was carrying about 2,300 containers at the time of the fire and warned that "damage could be substantial." WK Webster separately said some of the cargo aboard the vessel is temperature-sensitive, raising the possibility of spoilage if the ship's diversion is prolonged.

The HMM Platinum was initially expected to divert to Durban, with an arrival date of around October 8, according to earlier casualty advisories. A more recent advisory said other options were being weighed instead, naming Gqeberha, the South African port once called Port Elizabeth, as a possible alternative for the refuge call. No final decision on where the vessel will call has been confirmed [uncertain].

A port of refuge is a port where a damaged ship can be taken so that salvors and surveyors can carry out emergency repairs, firefighting, or cargo inspection, and so that damaged or at-risk cargo can be safely discharged, before a vessel resumes its voyage or is declared a total loss.

Casualty advisories of this kind are typically circulated by maritime loss adjusters and correspondents to alert underwriters, shippers, and cargo owners that a vessel has suffered damage, so that affected parties can take steps to protect their interests ahead of any formal general average or salvage claim.

The voyage runs from Kattupalli, on India's southeast coast, to Santos, Brazil's largest container port, a route that passes south of Madagascar on the way around the Cape of Good Hope. HMM is one of South Korea's largest container shipping lines and operates vessels on trades linking Asia with South America, among other routes.