One crew member dies in fire on Maersk-chartered container shipOne crew member dies in fire on Maersk-chartered container ship

The Panama-flagged newbuilding chartered by Maersk suffered an explosion on 19 July resulting in a fire while sailing from Mundra to Colombo.

Maersk said on Sunday that the ship’s manager had confirmed the death of one of the crew members. A statement from the Panama Maritime Authority, said, “The ship's operator reports a body in the lashing bridge, but it is impossible to reach it because of the flames.”

Maersk said the rest of the crew were safe and accounted. The vessel is reported to be stable although the fire continues to burn.

Efforts by the Indian Coast Guard to extinguish the blaze have continued into their third day.  The coast guard has deployed four vessels to fight the fire and also used a helicopter to drop 150 kg of dry chemical powder onto the blaze.

“The fire-fighting operation is still on. Though the fire is under control, I will not say that it is fully doused,” Deputy Inspector General of Indian Coast Guard-Goa Manoj Bhatia was quoted as saying in local press. The fire had previously been brought under control but reignited.

The coast guard expects it will take another three to four days to fully douse the fire which continues to burn inside containers to the fore of the vessel.

The Indian Express quoted unnamed sources as saying the fire was caused by a short circuit. Cargo fire on board container ships are a major issue for the industry and according to the 2023 Allianz Safety and Shipping Review, there were 64 reported fires on containerships in the previous five years, while insurer TT Club estimates a serious ship fire occurs every 60 days.

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The 2024-built Maersk Frankfurt is owned by Tokei Kaiun Ltd and managed by Bernard Schulte Shipmanagement.