Vessel MSC CAPE TOWN III, image credit: Sri Lanka Port Authority
We are here with another unfortunate maritime incident. In this blog, we will give the details of the explosion at the Colombo Port related to the MSC Cape Town vessel. On August 11, fires flamed on board MSC Cape Town III. MSC Cape Town III container ship was built in 2006 and has a capacity of 2,824 TEU. The ship was docked at Jaya Container Terminal in Colombo Port, Sri Lanka, by the time the fire started. The fire started in the area of 41/43 and spread through 100 under-deck and 60 on-deck containers rapidly; in the end, the fire led to an explosion, resulting in significant concern within port authorities and the maritime industry.
The details of MSC Cape Town III fire
While conducting its East African voyages, MSC Cape Town III experienced an uncontrolled fire during the exchange of 995 containers. When this fire occurred, all ship crew and operational personnel were immediately evacuated for their own safety. Thankfully, the SLPA Fire Brigade put the fires to an end and protected both the ship and its surroundings from further damage. H.J.K.U. Kumara, Director of Port Operations for South Louisiana Public Authority (SLPA), applauded the response team’s swift identification of the smoke source and immediate actions taken to prevent other potential fires. At this point, authorities continue to work in an investigation on what led up to this unfortunate occurrence.
What are the impacts of the incident?
Consequently, the fire and explosion on the MSC Cape Town III caused operational disruptions at Colombo Port, leading to delays in loading and unloading activities and pretty severe congestion at major Asian ports. As a result of this incident, combined with the existing issues caused by the peak season, shippers may face extended container availability delays along with ocean schedule changes and increased dwell times.
Shipsgo’s Actions on the MSC Cape Town III Incident
We closely and carefully followed the incident at the Colombo Port with our expert operation team from the first moment it occurred. After carefully investigating the vessel and the containers it carries, we informed our customers who had shipments on the ship.
We have also reached out to our customers whose shipments will be using this route and who may be potentially affected. We hope that no one will be significantly affected by the negative effects of this accident. We will closely follow the process for our customers’ affected and potentially affected containers.