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Purple Beach will head to German port for damage assessment

London: Salvage work continues on the blaze stricken Purple Beach boxship today with three salvage ships attending the casualty some 30 km off the coast of the German archipelago of Heligoland in North Sea.

A defective hose on one of the ships has been fixed and more water is being pumped into the vessel, with reports that the fire is now out, although the deck of the ship is still smouldering. The fire started on the evening of May 25, was initially put out by the crew, before reigniting the next day. The crew were evacuated on May 27 as noxious fumes from the fertilizer on fire in one of the cargo holds enveloped the vessel.

The air in the surrounding area has now been deemed safe and once the ship is fully safe it is likely to head to Nordenhaum port where damage to the Macs Shipping vessel will be assessed.

A spokesperson for the Marshall Islands Registry, where the Purple Beach is flagged, said that they are working with the German Authorities to investigate the cause of the fire.

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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