GULF of OMAN, Oman - “HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (F 802), a destroyer from the Netherlands and the command ship of Combined Task Force 150, came to the aid of a vessel in distress and rescued 27 people off the coast of Yemen March 21 while conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in the area.
Approximately 43 miles off the coast of Yemen, the cargo ship was in distress as the result of a large fire on board. The cause of the fire is not known at this time.
The De Zeven Provincien crew came to the aid of the cargo ship by rendering fire fighting assistance, evacuating the burning ship’s crew and offering humanitarian aid and medical care once on board”. That is what the official ‘Navy News’ has to say about the fire on board the M/V Hyundai Fortune.
Not a special report by any means, as there are ships in trouble, everyday, on every sea – and we hear precious little about that. But in this case, the report has far-stretching consequences for our business. Of the 5500 containers aboard, some 2,249 containers were ‘discharged’ or in plain English, went overboard. In a large number of those containers are bicycles and accessories. Dutch AGU for instance, knows that a container with bike underwear, which they badly need, is some still somewhere on the ship, apparently safe. Other containers are packed with the full year’s production of certain types of bikes. We have tried to get hold of the bill of lading, to find out exactly which bikes are concerned, but have had no success as yet.
But there seems to be more to this accident than meets the eye: underwriting experts are now predicting that the gross loss, as a result of this casualty, will exceed the 2002 catastrophic fire aboard M/V Hanjin Pennsylvania, the most expensive ship’s fire to date.
The Cause
Reports are that 7 containers in the aft container stacks of M/V Hyundai Fortune were laden with fireworks. A spokesman at Hyundai Merchant Marine Legal Dept. confirms the number of containers with fireworks was 7. They may have been the source of an explosion & subsequent blaze on board. The 7 containers of fireworks belong to a Hong Kong manufacturer and were destined for Hamburg and Le Havre. But some experts have different theories about what caused the blaze: "The stern of M/V Hyundai Fortune has been burned out and the hull holed, raising questions about whether some external force was responsible. Fireworks or other hazardous cargoes would have been in containers above deck, whereas M/V Hyundai Fortune appears to have been rocked by explosions below deck. While reluctant to speculate publicly, industry sources have started to consider in private whether the vessel could have been the target of a piracy or terrorist attack, or even hit a mine. The vessel was 60 miles off the Yemeni coast when the blaze broke out”.
The TT Club's (one of the biggest naval insurers) chief executive Paul Neagle said at a press conference. (MH)
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