Hansa Brandenburg: another container ship riddled with Problems
On July 15th 2013 a fire broke out onboard the Hansa Brandenburg (IMO 9236236), a container ship 176 m in length with a capacity of 1,740 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) operating under the Liberian flag. The ship was sailing from Singapore to Durban (South Africa) and was located 200 miles off the coast of Mauritius. The crew of 17 was unable to extinguish the fire that continued to spread. Another container ship, the Donau Trader, deviated to rescue the crew and bring them safely to Port Louis in Mauritius. The burning ship drifted for several days until the fire was brought under control by Five Oceans Salvage and Smit Salvage on July 19th. The Hansa Brandenburg was towed towards Port Louis after permission was granted for assessment and potential repairs to be carried out.
Mol Comfort
The total loss of MOL Comfort and its cargo is a new kind of disaster. Thousands of containers are awash, some are in the seawater column or at the bottom. They all contain materials that are entirely incompatible with the ecosystem of the Arabian Sea. Both wrecks of the MOL Comfort are now underwater disposals of hazardous waste, common waste and oil wastes.
The exact inventory of hazardous materials has not been disclosed by the owner. The ship had previously reached four Japanese ports. At the middle of its round trip, the container ship was supposed to reach Northern Europe. Japan is an exporter of chemicals and electronic equipment; the giant container ship was transporting all classes of hazardous materials, the only unknown being radioactive material. The fallout from the fire in the front part will contaminate the marine food chains. Containers adrift endangered navigation and when they will be gradually dislocated they will release hundreds of thousands of litters more or less floating in the sea.
The sinking of the aft part of the MOL Comfort
MOL Comfort disaster (follow up)
Information notice N°6
The aft part of the MOL Comfort just sank at 46°26” North and 66°26” East; 750 km from the Indian coast. According to the owner, she still contained 1,700 containers; the others have already fallen into the sea, drifting and presenting a danger to navigation. She also contained 1,500 tonnes of fuel oil that will pollute waters abundant with tuna, sardines, sharks, and crustaceans.
The fore part is currently being towed to the Sultanate of Oman.
Uncertainty regarding the MOL Competence
MOL Comfort disaster (follow up)
Information notice N°5
The MOL Competence, sister ship of the giant container ship that snapped in two in the Arabian Sea on June 17, is still in the vicinity of the port of Le Havre, France. She is looping around in circles.
At the same time, as a precautionary measure, the ship-owner Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has decided to strengthen the hull structure of the container ships of the same serie as soon as possible. The ships will be temporarily taken out of service and the rotations of the MOL container ships will obviously be rearranged
