Maersk Containership Drifts In Atlantic After Engine Room Explosion, Crew Injured

Three crew members aboard the Maersk Sana were injured following an incident in the vessel’s engine room that left the ship without propulsion and drifting in the Atlantic Ocean.

The explosion occurred on April 28, while the ship was sailing from Newark, New Jersey, to Singapore.

Maersk confirmed that the vessel experienced machinery-related issues in the main engine room, which caused the loss of main engine power.

The ship was located approximately 354 nautical miles east of Bermuda at the time of the incident.

A report from maritime law firm Roose + Partners mentioned that the explosion was believed to have followed an engine fire. Crew members tried to restart the engine, but the attempts were unsuccessful.

The injured seafarers received different levels of medical attention.

One crew member was treated onboard, while two others were moved to a nearby Maersk ship, the Maersk Nomazwe, which had diverted from its original voyage to help.

The Maersk Nomazwe had departed Algeciras on April 22 and changed course to assist its sister vessel. The two seriously injured crew were evacuated to Bermuda on April 30.

One of them was discharged after treatment, while the other remains in critical but stable condition in a hospital.

At the time of the incident, Maersk Sana was operating on the TP11 Transpacific service and was fully laden.

The vessel has a carrying capacity of 8,450 TEU, was built in 2004, and is registered under the Singapore flag. It is one of about a dozen similar vessels operated by Maersk under the Gemini Cooperation alliance with Hapag-Lloyd.

The ship is currently adrift in the Atlantic near Bermuda, with no main engine power. Ship tracking platform Sea.live marked the vessel as “not under command” as of Thursday.

A tugboat has been dispatched from Mexico to tow the ship to safety, but it is expected to take about a week to arrive due to the vessel’s remote location.

Consulting firms WK Webster and W.E. Cox cited unconfirmed reports of an engine explosion causing the incident, while Maersk continues its investigation into the cause.

The company stated that the safety of its crew remains the top priority and added that teams are also working on operational alternatives to minimise disruptions to customer logistics.

According to data from Equasis, the Maersk Sana was inspected by port state control two weeks before the incident and was found with no deficiencies.

The ship’s protection and indemnity insurance is handled by Skuld, a marine insurer based in Norway. The Maersk Nomazwe, after completing the crew transfer, resumed its journey to Newark and is expected to arrive on May 3.

Reference: mykn.kuehne-nagel

Source: Maritime Shipping News