Eleven firefighters injured after a blast aboard the Hoegh Xiamen in June lambasted the ship's manager and charterer for a litany of safety oversights in a lawsuit now in US federal court.
Among other allegations, the firefighters say the fire detection system on board the 4,900-ceu, 2012-built car carrier either had broken or was turned off before the blaze broke out in a hold while offshore Jacksonville. The fire burned for eight days and the vessel was a total loss.
"Without adequate or appropriate systems to detect and extinguish the blaze, the cargo decks packed tight with flammable wrecked automobiles, burned unabated inside the ship," the complaint read.
The lawsuit names the Hoegh Xiamen's manager, Hoegh Autoliners Management, and the ship's charterer, Grimaldi Deep Sea, as plaintiffs, plus Hoegh Autoliners, Horizon Terminal Services and SSA Atlantic as defendants.
It was first filed in a Florida state court last week, but entered into the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida last Friday.
It comes from the 11 injured Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department firefighters, plus eight of their wives. It seeks unspecified damages.
They allege the ship lacked a sprinkler system and functioning fire dampeners and firehose connections on its starboard side. Without a water source on board, the firefighters said they had to connect their hoses on the dock and drag them through the ship that was burning, in parts, at 1,000 degrees.
The crew also did not speak English, leading to a nearly two-hour delay in trying to get the fire under control, the lawsuit said.
It said the explosion that injured the firefighters happened on the Hoegh Xiamen's fifth floor, on the first day after the fire started.
It blew them down stairs, over cars, broke bones and caused severe emotional trauma "as the first responders believed they were going to be trapped inside the ship and burned to death".
The firefighters allege negligence on the part of the companies for not equipping the ship properly, crewing it adequately and loading the cargo correctly.
Hoegh Autoliners said that the Hoegh Xiamen incident has been thoroughly investigated by both the company and authorities, and it disputes any negligence or wrongdoing by the vessel's crew.
"We are grateful to and have the highest respect for all the first responders and the Jacksonville Port Authorities for their hard work on the fire on board Hoegh Xiamen," the company said in a statement provided to TradeWinds.
The Grimaldi Group did not respond to a requests for comment for this story.
The fire, the latest high-profile casualty involving a car carrier, cost marine insurers $26m.
The 7,700-ceu Golden Ray (built 2017) capsized last autumn off the state of Georgia, running up a $645m insurance bill. Fires on board the 5,600-ceu Sincerity Ace (built 2009) and 56,642-gt Grande America (built 1997) last year cost $137m and $100m respectively.
We are grateful to and have the highest respect for all the first responders and the Jacksonville Port Authorities for their hard work on the fire on board Höegh Xiamen.
The lawsuit was moved into federal court at the behest of Hoegh Autoliners, which argued in court papers that it was wrongly added to the lawsuit in an effort to keep it in state court, as it maintains a place of business in Florida.
It further said federal court had proper jurisdiction and that, since the ship was on time charter to Grimaldi, the firefighters have no claim.
