ShipSpotting.com Forum
Shipspotters all over the world => Shipping News and information => Topic started by: DanEarl on August 31, 2013, 09:04:25 AM
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Reports of the Maersk Kampala confirm a small fire on board the Maersk Kamapla :
http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/92346/maersk-kampala-containership-caught-fire-near-suez-canal/
Updates say that the fire is in two containers in the front bays but are still burning :
http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/92401/fire-in-two-containers-aboard-maersk-kampala-still-burning/
Cheers, Dan.
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Here's the latest this morning:
https://www.maerskline.com/link/?page=news&path=/news/news20130902
With the growing numbers of fires happening/starting in boxes, I'd be surprised if there weren't issues about mis-declarations of contents going on somewhere along the line. Looks increasingly as if shippers might be putting higher-risk cargo into containers, then declaring something with a lower insurance premium on the manifest. Could this, or does this, happen?
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@ CHRIS
it is not a COULD it is a FACT
I by myself stopped loading in Rotterdam one time because we were on draft mark but according terminal we would have to load 36 TUE,s more,,which in other words meant that
the loaded containers were heavier than declared !!!
rather common than unsual by my experience and judged by how often there are fires on container ships "in the containers that is" a lot of misdeclarations going on. Also one other thing, wrong stowing,, like certain IMO cargoes beside life reefer containers for example (life reefer means a hot compressor which could mean to much heat for certain IMO cargoes in neighboring containers)
By now sailors on container vessels should get extra money same as sailors on tankers,,even more so. Tankers are controlled like there is not tomorrow and the cargo for container vessels are virtually going onto the ships unchecked !!
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OK, Ted. So what are shipper reasons for misdeclaration, overweight, etc?
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There is no reason under declare container weights as we pay for the container no matter what weight we put in it, the only extra cost is if it is above 21000kg then we have to pay an extra 10% on the haulage to port only for a tri-axle trailer and containers are weighted on arrival at port, if they are found to be more than 2000kg of the declared weight the we are hit with a penalty charge by the shipping line in the UK.
Occasionaly we have declared hazardous container examined at port but i can not recall any non hazardous container ever being examined.
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I think there is a big reason of misdeclaration the weight. The weight is very important where to stow the container, in the hatch or the 6. row on deck.
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Please accept my possible ignorance on this matter but carrying so many containers why do these vessels not have any form of firefighting for fires in containers ? Even if fixed fire monitors controlled remotely from the bridge were placed on the forecastle and monkey island at least boundary cooling could be achieved if no other help is at hand.
I was on the salvage of the Ever Decent where we constantly pumped water through our fire monitors on our tug for seven days.
Cheers, Dan.
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a) weights have to be rather accurate for the stowing purposes (stability), but have rather nothing
to do with why weights misdeclared. Unless a shipper wants it under deck or on deck
but the SHIPPER would need also to know what stow criterias are implemented, I would say
highly unlikely. However I saw some tariffs for shipping sometime back and it was clearly
distinguished by weight but also by what was shipped
b) There is firefighting equipment on ships, inside the holds is a CO2 system were holds
independently from others can be flooded by CO2. On deck of course there are two
possibilities. First the good old fashioned fire fighting hose and perform boundary
cooling and another system, it works with a portable CO2 system, where a "spike" is
driven into the wall of a burning container and then the CO2 system connected and
then flooded by same
However, the fire fighting is depended on a few other factors
1) how progressed the fire/burning is already when discovered
2) location of the container burning
3) quality (training for emergencies) of crews.
4) weather conditions
I can imagine a few scenarios where possible the crew can not reach it anymore safely for themselves for example a lot of smoke or radiating heat and/or fumes from chemicals.
Most probably, (I am convinced) the main factor is the ships command and their ability to direct the crew and more importantly can they do it clam and professional or erractic and more panic like.
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Ummm. . . thanks for the comments. I still can't see why fires happen in conatiners, time after time - maybe the trouble is that no-one seems to be publishing reasons why they should occur so often. Do hazardous cargos attract higher frieght rates, so giving shippers a reason to hide the contents?
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Chris,
if you have somte time you can check different dangerous goods, I'm not quite sure but I think the rate is much higher than for normal goods.
http://www.searates.com/reference/imo/
Rgds.
Juergen
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@ juergen / Chris
yes,,freight rates for dangerous cargoes are much higher than for regular so in that matter there is a profound reason not to declare them. also when most probably that is the reason why a lot fires starting I suspect much more the way of stowage. I do not mean where the container is stowed on the ship, like for example some IMO cargoes are only permitted forward, some are only permitted under deck and others again on deck only. The main reason I assume is the stowage inside the containers. Anyone who saw how careless the cargoes inside consolidated containers are stowed (means that inside one container various different shippers with various different cargoes)can imagine very easy how those fires starting.
Some IMO cargoes can not have heat, heat means not necessarily fire,, already straight sunlight on the container can bring the inside container easy to 150 C inside the container which is enough to ignite them. Other are prone to friction,,which mwans if the packaging of one item rubs on the other and that way heat is created.
My imagination is endless. I saw a few containers opened on the berth after discharging and had a few times containers when you walked over deck and the vessel rolled that you could hear cargo falling around inside container.
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How to stop misdeclarations
HHmmmmmm,, I as Capt would say,, arrest the shipper and put them in jail. A smart lawyer could even construe far reaching attempted murder of 22 crew or so out of it (far fetched, but why not) Capt,s are now arrested/detained for almost anything. A accident happened and next you read Master arrested. Like the indian Capt of the Hebei Spirit who was detained in S-Korea for 1.5 years after a bunker barge collided with his ship while HIS ship was at anchor !!!
or the MASTER of the Prestige (Erika?) where the idiotic Spanish authorities refused to bring the ship in a small bay but let the ship drag into the Atlantic and subsequently broke apart in bad weather.
Or the grounding of the Pallas ? (at Amrum in the german bay)where the Master notified the german authorities and those brainless peoples were not able to send a tug a few hours away for 1.5 days until the vessel was aground and then it was the bad Capt.
and on and on
Seems in todays NEWSWORLD the first authorities have to do to present a guilty one. Big splashes in the news,,Capt arrested,,and bingo case closed,,guilty catched already.
Ever read the news "Capt exonerated and case dismissed" ? Not newsworthy does not bring headlines !!!!!
I don,t say that Capt,s are not at fault and some still today are reckless, but fact is as long there are humans on the ships there will be accidents, like it or not.
The same way as in the train / trucking business or Taxi driver profession and on .......
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Maersk Line now say that the fire aboard Maersk Kampala is out. Here's their press release from yesterday:
The fire-fighting teams aboard the Maersk Kampala have succeeded in putting out the fire aboard the Maersk Kampala. Some smoke continues to come from some of the containers that had fire but will stop eventually with continued spraying by the tugs and flooding by the fire-fighting teams. Operational planning is now the priority, including port selection, contingency planning for cargo as well as the vessel