Stratford

On July 28, 2025, a fire broke out aboard the 'Stratford' with 25 crew members on board, while sailing approximately 190 nautical miles northwest of the Yongshu Reef, northwest of Hongkong near the Nansha district, en route from Shenzhen to Nha Trang n its China–India Express 3 (CIX3) service. The distress call was forwarded by the Salvage Bureau to the South China Sea Rescue Bureau, which deployed the 'Nanhai Jiu 116', which was on a one of its ships of routine patrol nearby. A rescue helicopter was also launched for an aerial survey and in order to transmit real-time fire updates. The fire was initially located in four containers on the foreship. When the patrol boat reached the scene, it immediately used fire monitors to conduct high-intensity cooling and firefighting operations. Three professional rescue team members were dispatched aboard the container ship to conduct firefighting operations. By late that night, the flames were largely extinguished. From the night of July 30 to 31 some containers on board began to smoke and rekindle, and the area of the burning containers expanded. Rescue teams worked tirelessly day and night, repeatedly carrying out firefighting, water spraying, fire-retardant injections, and fire detection inspections. The visible flames were extinguished on July 30 at around 2 p.m. Following repeated inspections, rescue crews confirmed that no residual fire risks remained by the evening of Aug 1, securing the safety of the crew, vessel and cargo while preventing secondary disasters like marine pollution.On the afternoon of July 30, they reported the temperature in the containers had returned to normal levels, and the fire was declared extinguished. They continued to monitor for any signs of the fire reigniting. The 'Nanhai Jiu 116' escorted the vessel, which proceeded at a speed of 5.8 knots towards the port of destination, where it arrived on Aug 6. Report with photos: https://www.sdilogistics-shippings.com/news/another-ship-caught-fire-which-had-called-at-85172266.html

SM Line, the new South Korean carrier, continues its rapid fleet expansion. Founded by the Samra Midas Group last December, SM Line has launched transpacific and intra-Asia services very fast. Its website states it currently has 23 ships with plans to have 30 vessels by the end of the year. Brokers report its latest acquisition is the 8,533 teu Lloyd Don Carlos. SM Line is reported as paying a hefty $24m to Germany’s E R Schiffahrt for the 2006-built ship, despite arming in post-panamax rates, with 8,500 teu vessels now achieving in region of $14,500 a day for period. The ship will likely be deployed on SM’s transpacic operations.

The Port of Brisbane has welcomed on Nov. 30, 2016 its first 8,500 teu class vessel, the Maersk Lloyd Don Carlos, representing a “significant milestone” for the Australian port. The arrival follows ongoing work to optimise the port’s navigational channel. Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd (PBPL) CEO, Roy Cummins, stated: “As vessels increase in size and demand grows for Australian ports to take these larger vessels, PBPL has taken a firm view that in the future, Port of Brisbane will never be the limiting factor on the east coast of Australia.”

The "CMA CGM Don Carlos" barely avoided grounding while leaving Xiamen on Jan 15,2016. In the main fairway the vessel suddenly veered off course and was heading towards shallow waters. The Vessel Traffic System operators spotted the wrong course and timely warned the vessel.