Maersk Honam

Maersk Honam is a container ship operated by Maersk Line. The vessel caught fire on 6 March 2018 while sailing in the Arabian Sea. Five members of the crew of 27 were killed, including one rescued crew member who died later from injuries.

ICGS Shoor fighting fire onboard Maersk Honam
History
Name:
  • Maersk Honam (2017–2019)
  • Maersk Halifax (2019–present)
Owner: A P Moller Singapore Pte Ltd, Singapore[1]
Operator: Maersk Line[2]
Port of registry:  Singapore[1]
Ordered: 8 July 2015[2]
Builder: Hyundai Heavy Industries, Ulsan, South Korea
Cost: US$137,500,000[3]
Yard number: 2873[2]
Laid down: 10 December 2015[3]
Launched: 12 May 2017[3]
Completed: 31 August 2017[3]
In service: 2017–2018; 2019–present
Refit: 2018–2019
Identification:
Status: Damaged by fire on 6 March 2018, but now in active service as Maersk Halifax
General characteristics (as built)[2]
Class and type: Maersk H-class container ship
Tonnage:
  • 153,153 GT
  • 70,694 NT
  • 162,051 DWT
Length: 353.02 m (1,158 ft 2 in)
Beam: 53.5 m (175 ft 6 in)
Draught: 15 m (49 ft 3 in)[3]
Depth: 29.9 m (98 ft 1 in)
Installed power: MAN B&W 8G95ME-C9.5 (54,960 kW)
Propulsion: Single shaft; fixed pitch propeller
Speed: 24 knots (44 km/h; 28 mph)[3]
Capacity: 15,226 TEU
Crew: 27

Description

Maersk Honam is a fully cellular container ship with a capacity of 15,226 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). Her general configuration follows that of similarly-sized container ships with deckhouse about two thirds forwards to improve visibility over container stacks, engine room aft, and container stowage in nine cargo holds as well as on deck. She is 340.5 metres (1,117 ft 2 in) long overall, has a moulded beam of 53.5 metres (175 ft 6 in), and fully laden draws 15 metres (49 ft 3 in) of water. Her gross tonnage is 153,153; net tonnage 70,694; and deadweight tonnage 162,051 tonnes. Maersk Honam is powered by a single license-built 8-cylinder MAN B&W 8G95ME-C9.5 low-speed crosshead diesel engine producing 54,960 kW (73,700 hp) at 80 rpm and driving a single fixed pitch bronze propeller.[2][3]

History

Maersk Honam was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea, as part of a USD 1.1 billion contract for the construction of nine container ships with a nominal capacity of 14,000 TEU for Maersk Line. These so-called H-class vessels were designed with improved operational flexibility compared to older designs, meaning that they were not optimized for a particular route.[4][5] The shipbuilding contract was signed on 8 July 2015 and the keel of the vessel was laid on 10 December with yard number 2873. She was launched on 12 May 2017 and delivered to Maersk's Singapore subsidiary, A P Moller Singapore Pte Ltd, on 31 August.[3][1]

2018 fire

On 6 March 2018 at 15:20 GMT, a major fire broke out in one of the forward cargo holds of Maersk Honam while the vessel was in the Arabian Sea about 900 nautical miles (1,700 km; 1,000 mi) southeast of Salalah, Oman, en route from Singapore to Suez with a cargo of 7,860 containers and a crew of 27: thirteen Indian, nine Filipino, two Thai, one Romanian, one South African, and one British nationals. Unable to extinguish the fire, the crew sent out a distress signal and 23 crew members were evacuated to a nearby merchant vessel, ASL Ceres, while the remaining four (two Filipino, one Indian and the South African) were declared missing.[6] Two of the rescued crew members required urgent medical attention and the other, a Thai national, died from his injuries on the following day.[7] Two crew members, reportedly injured from falling from the ship during evacuation, were later moved to an Indian Navy vessel after their condition worsened.[8] Maersk Line announced on 12 March that remains of three as-yet-unidentified crewmembers had been found on board, leaving one still officially missing[9] who was later declared dead.[10]

On 9 March, the fire on board the adrift Maersk Honam had reportedly been brought under control by the Indian Coast Guard vessel ICGS Shoor and two offshore vessels, CSC Nelson and Maersk Involver. The salvage operation is led by Smit Salvage.[11]

As of 15 March 2018, the cause of the fire was unknown and Maersk Line said that an investigation into the incident was planned.[12] The fire continued to burn, albeit controlled, into April, by which time the ship had been taken under tow to the Port of Jebel Ali for the unloading of intact cargo.[10]

Rebuilding

The owner decided to reuse the stern section in a new ship, to be constructed at a South Korean shipyard. The damaged bow section and the accommodations block were removed at Dubai Drydocks for scrapping. The stern section was taken from Jebel Ali to Geoje aboard the semi-submersible ship MV Xin Guang Hua, which sailed from Dubai in February 2019. Hyundai Heavy Industries constructed a new bow and accommodations block, and the rebuilt ship, renamed Maersk Halifax but retaining the IMO number of Maersk Honam, entered service in August 2019.[13][14]

See also
  • Hyundai Fortune, a 5,551 TEU container ship that was seriously damaged in a fire in 2006
  • MSC Flaminia, a 6,750 TEU container ship that caught fire in 2012 with loss of three crewmen
  • MOL Comfort, a 8,110 TEU container ship that broke in two in June 2013; a fire broke out in the forward section before sinking
  • Hansa Brandenburg, a 1,740 TEU container ship damaged by fire in July 2013

References
  1. "Maersk Honam (9784271)". Equasis. French Ministry for Transport. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  2. "Maersk Honam (17265517)". ABS Record. American Bureau of Shipping. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  3. "Maersk Honam (9784271)". Sea-web. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  4. Maersk Line Orders USD 1.1 Billion Worth of Boxships at HHI. World Maritime News, 8 July 2015. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  5. Maersk Line Books 15,000 TEU Boxship Duo at HHI. World Maritime News, 19 February 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  6. Serious fire on Maersk Line container vessel in the Arabian Sea. Maersk Line, 7 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  7. Seafarer dies from Maersk Honam containership fire injuries, four remain missing. Seatrade Maritime News, 8 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  8. Fire on Maersk Ship in Arabian Sea: Hopes of Finding Missing Indian Sailor Fades. News18.com, 9 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-11.
  9. Hand, Marcus (12 March 2018). "Remains of three out of four missing seafarers found on Maersk Honam". Seatrade Maritime News. Seatrade UBM. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  10. "Maersk Honam Battling a Fire for Over a Month". World Maritime News. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  11. Update: Maersk Honam Fire Localized. World Maritime News, 9 March 2018.
  12. "High Costs Expected after Maersk Honam Fire". World Maritime News. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  13. "Maersk Honam's Stern Loaded for Transport". The Marine Executive. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
  14. "Rebuilt Maersk Honam Returns to Service as Maersk Halifax". The Maritime Executive. 9 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
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