Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) insurance advisers at Logical Insurance Brokers have been closely following the plight of Hapag-Lloyd owned Yantian Express, where the 320 metre container vessel was travelling from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Halifax, Canada via the Suez Canal.
Around 1,500 kms from the Halifax coast, a fire was discovered inside a container on the ship's forward deck last Thursday (3 January 2019) and quickly spread to several other containers. The salvage tug Smit Nicobar has been offering firefighting support, however, strong winds and heavy seas have been hampering extinguishment efforts. Over the weekend, the weather conditions worsened and the fire increased in intensity. Continuing attempts to contain the fire have failed so far. The crew consisting of 8 officers and 15 crew have been evacuated from the vessel. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported.
Further tug boats have arrived to render assistance and it has been reported that as soon as the fire is contained it is likely that Yantian Express will be towed into Halifax.
In the meantime, further reports suggest that consideration is being given to a declaration of General Average in relation to this incident.
NOTE: For further detail on General Average, please refer to the article prepared by Chris Dent, Director TT Club, in the Summer edition of Across Borders - refer HERE
Should General Average be declared, Logical offers the following guidance to FTA members where they receive queries from their customers, to assist/facilitate the process:Cargo owners should be referred to their cargo insurers who will assist them manage the General Average declaration. Generally, cargo insurers will arrange the appropriate guarantees;Where cargo owners do not hold cargo insurance, the cargo owner will be required to put up a cash bond.
If you would like to know more about General Average or require further assistance in relation to this incident, please feel free to contact James Cotis on 02 9328 3322 orjcotis@FTAlliance.com.au |
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