One of the 23 crew members evacuated from Maersk Honam, rocked by fire on Wednesday in the Arabian Sea, has been confirmed dead by Maersk Line.
, The Thai national passed away after his health condition drastically deteriorated due to the injuries sustained in connection to the fire, the company said in a statement.
“We are deeply saddened with the passing of one of our colleagues who in the first place had been evacuated. The seriousness of the event has escalated and everyone in Maersk is moved by this. We are in contact with the family of the deceased and our thoughts and condolences go to them,” said Søren Toft, chief operating officer at Maersk.
The remaining 22 crew members who were evacuated to ALS Ceres are en route to Sri Lanka, while another four crew members remain missing.
“We are doing our outmost in this tragic situation to care for all evacuated colleagues and continue the intense search and rescue operations ongoing for the four crew members currently reported missing,” Toft said.
The ship – less than 12 months old – was en route from Singapore towards Suez when the fire started some 900 nautical miles southeast of the Omani port of Salalah.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting the vessel was carrying dangerous cargo, although the cause of fire, which broke out in a cargo hold, is still unknown and the fire continues to rage.
I note the fire is involving the first few stacks. Typically IMDG goods are carried here on box ships to keep them away from the reefer boxes aft, and also the machinery spaces and (on older designs) the superstructure and crew accommodation.
It is worth noting that the accommodation is much further forward on these new ULCV types. That puts it much closer to the IMDG cargoes than would have been the case were the vessel an older lady in the more traditional design. We hope obviously that this did not contribute to the injuries the crew sustained. Thoughts and prayers to all concerned.