Containership Diverts To South Korea After Catching Fire During Pacific Voyage

A fire on board the containership MV Colorado forced the vessel to divert to Busan Port, South Korea, for inspection, delaying its planned schedule from China to the United States.

The 65,924 dwt vessel, carrying cargo on the ZIM Ecommerce Xpress (ZEX) service, was en route from Yantian, China, to Los Angeles, USA, when the fire occurred.

ZIM said its crew immediately implemented emergency fire procedures, bringing the fire under control without injury to any personnel. However, the extent of damage to the vessel or cargo remains unclear.

After the incident, the vessel’s operators decided to turn back as a safety measure. According to Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracking data, the Colorado was scheduled to arrive at Busan Port on September 27 for a detailed inspection and assessment before continuing its voyage. Originally, the ship was due in California on October 10.

The MV Colorado is a 5,504 TEU containership, built in South Korea in 2024 by MPC Container Ships of Norway, and is operating under a 7-year charter to ZIM. The vessel is registered in Portugal (Madeira).

MPC has described the vessel as an eco-friendly ship, emitting about 20 percent less greenhouse gases compared to standard designs. It is also built to allow cost-efficient conversion to operate on methanol in the future.

This is the second major disruption for ZIM’s Pacific service this month. Earlier, the MV Mississippi had a stack collapse at the Port of Long Beach, causing about 75 containers to fall into the harbor. Recovery operations for the Mississippi are still ongoing.

The World Shipping Council recently reported that over 11.39 percent of containers inspected at ports had deficiencies. These include misdeclared or undeclared dangerous goods, improper packing, and incorrect documentation.

To address these issues, the group launched its Cargo Safety Program, an AI-based initiative to review cargo documentation. The program aims to detect and prevent misdeclared or undeclared dangerous goods to safeguard crews, vessels, cargo, and the marine environment.

On September 24, ZIM issued a customer notice confirming the incident during the voyage of MV Colorado (ZB81/E) on its ZEX route. The company said that after preliminary assessment and emergency disposal, the fire situation was under control. For safety of the vessel and crew, the ship was diverted to Busan Port for inspection.

References: mykn.kuehne-nagel, jctrans

Source: Maritime Shipping News