Msc-Jasper-Viii

9 - 10 months trading Asia & US West Coast, 135'000$ daily, ZIM

The "Safmarine Meru" was to be towed to a safe location where the cargo may be discharged and inspected. The vessel was sailing on a Maersk Line trans-Pacific service that plys the US Gulf Coast-Asia route, and was carrying less than 400 full containers on board when the "Northern Jasper" ran into her port side. The root cause of the incident was yet unknown, a full investigation was to follow. At the time of the collision, the "Northern Jasper" was not on charter. The vessel was sailing from Zhoushan shipyard with the intention to anchor in Shanghai's anchorage area, where it was to be delivered into a new charter on May 17.

In the morning of May 11 the fire aboard the "Safmarine Meru" seemed to be under control, with about 40 containers either being destroyed or damaged. A team of Chinese authorities and representatives of Maersk Line has been on board the "Safmarine Meru" on May 10 to map the damage and collect the necessary information. Customers with cargo on board the Safmarine Meru have been contacted directly. Maersk was cooperating with the Chinese authorities to develop a plan to safely tow the ship to the port of Ningbo. The vessel was without power, and has taken some water in due to a leak in the engine room area and a stern hold next to superstructure, but the condition was stable, so it was deemed suitable for towing. Firefighting was continued by tugs and Coast Guard vessels. The crew members were safe. Crisis counselors were on site to offer support. Action was being taken to release the crew. The "Northern Jasper" left the mooring of Zhoushan on May 11 and resumed her voyage to Yangshan. Chinese reports with photos: http://xm.soship.com/e/action/ShowInfo.php?classid=13&id=635983 http://news.hsdhw.com/338331/