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MSC Daniela likely to return to service next month

MSC anticipates its fire-struck ship, MSC Daniela, will be back in service by as early as the middle of next month.

The 13,800 teu boxship suffered a fire on April 4 in its aft section. The ship was en route to the Suez Canal from Singapore when a fire broke out in one container before spreading quickly to others, forcing the master to reroute to Colombo where a combined force of Sri Lankan and Indian vessels then spent more than 12 hours extinguishing the blaze. Some of the boxes on the deck continued to smoulder for more than two weeks after the initial fire leading Sri Lankan authorities to worry about some chemicals in the air making their way onland and harming the local population.

MSC suspects shippers misdeclaring hazardous cargoes was the most likely reason for the blaze.

The ship is now moored at China Shipping Industry’s Changxing yard to the north of Shanghai having got to China under its own steam in an eight day voyage from Sri Lanka.

“She is now in dry dock; we anticipate 2 weeks’ work. The vessel may return to service as early as mid-June,” a spokesperson for the Swiss containerline told Splash today.

Sam Chambers

Starting out with the Informa Group in 2000 in Hong Kong, Sam Chambers became editor of Maritime Asia magazine as well as East Asia Editor for the world’s oldest newspaper, Lloyd’s List. In 2005 he pursued a freelance career and wrote for a variety of titles including taking on the role of Asia Editor at Seatrade magazine and China correspondent for Supply Chain Asia. His work has also appeared in The Economist, The New York Times, The Sunday Times and The International Herald Tribune.
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