Two Massive Container Ships Collide
Maersk Line's 292-meter (958-foot) Safmarine Meru and the 318-meter (1,043-foot) Northern Jasper operated by Germany’s Norddeutsche Reederei H. Schuldt GmbH & Co collided off the coast of China late Saturday with one catching fire, but the crews of both vessels are safe.
The collision took place in opens seas 138 miles east of the Chinese port of Ningbo, south of Shanghai.
“The collision caused severe damage to the Safmarine Meru and a fire broke out. The Safmarine Meru’s crew of 22 people abandoned the vessel shortly after,” Maersk Line said.
Firefighting was initiated Sunday morning local time. While there is no visible fire, there is smoke and firefighting continues. The Chinese authorities are on the scene and Maersk Line is cooperating with same,” Maersk Line said.
The Safmarine Meru has nominal capacity of 4,650 twenty-foot-equivalent units but reportedly carried only 400 loaded containers at the time of the collision.
The ship was part of Maersk’s TP-18 service that the Danish carrier operates on an Asia-U.S. Gulf route that with Mediterranean Shipping Co. It built in 2006 and sails under the Hong Kong flag.
The Northern Jasper has capacity of about 8,400 TEUs. It was built in 2009 and sails under the Liberian flag.