One week after the outbreak of a fire on the German freighter „Yantian Express“ in the Atlantic, the fire is brought under control. In the meantime, the first crew members have boarded again.
After a week, the fire on the container ship „Yantian Express“ on the high seas was brought under control. A crew of five men was safely returned to the ship of the shipping company Hapag -Lloyd, the company announced.
The „Yantian Express“ is now being taken at a slow speed in tow and is still located about 800 nautical miles off the Canadian coast. A third ocean tug is on the way and will probably support the work from Sunday.
Crew had to leave ship
The fire had broken out Thursday with a container on deck and had spread to more containers. The initially initiated extinguishing work had to be stopped because of bad weather. The eight officers and 15 crew members were disembarked after two days and transferred to a salvage tug.
Damage not yet foreseeable
At times, the ship drove leadless on the Atlantic. An assessment of the damage to ship and cargo is currently not possible, it said in the message. Hapag-Lloyd works closely with all relevant authorities.
The „Yantian Express“ is a 320 meter long freighter under German flag, which can load 7510 standard containers (TEU). The 17-year-old ship was on its way from Colombo (Sri Lanka) via the Suez Canal to Halifax on the Canadian East Coast.
