Fire on the Yantian Express “under control”

German-based cargo container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd guarantees that the fire that broke out on its 7,500 teu Yantian Express was last night “brought under control”.

"On 3 January, a fire broke out in one container on the deck of the Yantian Express and spread to additional containers. In the meantime, efforts to extinguish the fire have made continuous progress under the direction of the salvage company Smit and in cooperation with the Hapag-Lloyd crew on the scene as well as Hapag-Lloyd’s emergency-response team in Hamburg. These combined efforts have allowed the fire to be largely contained and brought under control," said a press statement from the shipping company.

On Wednesday evening, a Hapag-Lloyd crew of five safely transferred back from the ocean-going tug Smit Nicobar to the Yantian Express, it said.

The Yantian Express is currently being towed at a slow speed by the Maersk Mobiliser and continues to be about 800 nautical miles off the coast of Canada. A third ocean-going tug is on its way to the Yantian Express and is expected to begin assisting the activities on 13 January.

At this time, it is not possible to make a precise estimate of any damage to the Yantian Express or its cargo. Hapag-Lloyd is working in close cooperation with all relevant authorities.

The 7,510 TEU Yantian Express, which is 320 meters long and sails under German flag in the East Coast Loop 5 (EC5) service, was built in 2002 and was on its way from Colombo to Halifax via the Suez Canal.

With a fleet of 222 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 1.6 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world's leading liner shipping companies. The Company has around 12,000 employees and 394 offices in 127 countries.