Firefighting continues on Maersk Honam, surviving crew reach shore

Maersk Line said on Friday that the evacuated crew members had arrived in Cochin and Trivandrum. The company said most of the crew had been transferred to a hotel while an unspecified number were hosiptalised with some in intensive care. Two seafarers had been transferred to Trivandrum by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard due to the severity of their injuries.

“We are relieved that a majority of our colleagues have been released from the hospital. We, however, remain deeply concerned about the health condition of our colleagues still in hospital and are grateful that they are in the capable hands of medical professionals,” said Palle Laursen, chief technical officer for Maersk Line.

Search for four missing crew members continues, while one died after the evacuation.

Firefighting on the burning vessel is ongoing with an Indian Coast Guard vessel which arrived on Thursday and two specialised firefighting vessels that arrived today. Maersk has also appointed Smit Salvage and Ardent for the salvage operations.

“We are appreciative of the partnering assistance we’ve received from local Indian authorities and we must now let the salvage team do their work,” said Laursen.

“It is still too early to determine the cause of the fire or the impact to the vessel or cargo. Obviously, finding the cause of the fire is very important to us and a full investigation will be conducted as soon as possible.”

The Singapore-flagged Maersk Honam was on enroute from Singapore to Suez with 7860 containers, equalling 12,416 teu, onboard at the time of the fire, which started on Tuesday.