Losses
Contship France
In October 1997, a fire broke out in the hold of the 1,600-TEU1 container ship Contship France (built: 1993, length: 163 m, width, 27.8 m) while it was sailing from Charleston, South Carolina, to Papeete, Tahiti. The insured loss to the vessel and its cargo came to more than US$ 5m.
DG Harmony
On 9 November 1998, there was a fire on the 1,800-TEU container ship DG Harmony (built: 1990, length: 176 m, width: 27.5 m) off the coast of Brazil. It was caused by an explosion in hold 3. The insured loss exceeded US$ 20m.
Aconcagua
On 30 December 1998, the Aconcagua was sailing off the west coast of South America on its way from Balboa, Panama, to Callao, Peru, when a container stowed below deck exploded. A fire broke out and damaged the vessel and its cargo in the region of holds 3–5. The insured loss exceeded US$ 15m.
CMA Djakarta
On 10 July 1999, there was an explosion on board the 2,100-TEU container ship CMA Djakarta (built in 1998) off the coast of Ecuador. It was followed by a fire which severely damaged the vessel and its cargo. The insured loss was over US$ 25m.
Hanjin Pennsylvania
On 11 November 2002, containers with a dangerous cargo of fireworks caught fire on the 4,400-TEU container ship Hanjin Pennsylvania (built: 2002, size: 50,242 GT2, length: 282 m, width: 32 m) off the coast of Sri Lanka. A flame shot 130 m into the air. Although the fire-fighting facilities on board were all implemented, the fire spread and forced the crew to leave the ship.
In spite of further explosions, salvage experts continued to fight the fire but were unable to prevent the total loss of the vessel. The insured loss to the vessel and its cargo is estimated at more than US$ 100m.
NYK Argus
On 19 October 2004, a fire broke out in the hold of the large container ship NYK Argus (built: 2004, size: 75,484 GT, length: 284 m, width: 40 m) off the coast of Algeria. The crew succeeded in smothering the fire in the hold while the vessel was still at sea.
Hyundai Fortune
In March 2006, there was a fire on the container ship Hyundai Fortune (built: 1996, size: 64,054 GT, length: 275 m, width: 40 m) off the Yemen coast. The cause of loss is still unclear. The insured loss to the vessel and its cargo is expected to be as high as US$ 300m.
1 TEU = Twenty Foot Equivalent Unit = a 20-foot container unit.
2 GT = gross tons.
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