Like a phoenix the Maersk Honam set to return to service

Analyst Alphaliner reported in its weekly newsletter that the vessel was set to return to service soon as the Maersk Halifax having been refurbished at Hyundai Heavy Industries.

The 2016-built, 15,262 teu Maersk Honam was hit by a serious fire on 6 March last year 900 nm southeast of Salalah, Oman. Five crew members lost their lives in the fire which took well over a month to be fully extinguished and damaged the bow of the vessel beyond repair.

Read more: Maersk Honam joins a growing list of horrific containership fires

Following the fire the vessel was towed to the UAE where the fire damaged bow and deck house were removed at the Drydocks World Dubai. In February this year the largely undamaged aft section, including the engine room, was then floated onto a Cosco Shipping heavy lift vessel Xin Guang Hua (pictured above) and shipped to HHI in South Korea.

A new bow and deckhouse have been built at HHI and connected to the original aft section of the Maersk Honam.

According to Alphaliner in the process the bow was reshaped from the original vessel and scrubber added to meet the requirements of the IMO sulphur cap.

The analyst said the vessel would return to service as the Maersk Halifax on the Asia - Med 'AE11/Jade' service of the 2M from Maersk and MSC on 5 August.

The fire on the Maersk Honam was believed to have stemmed from a misdeclared dangerous cargo, and issue which have become major problem for the container shipping industry.

Read more: A major containership fire occurs every 60 days