The fire that broke out on an AP Moller-Maersk container ship last Friday has claimed the life of one of its crew.
The Danish liner giant and the Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) have both confirmed the death of a Filipino seafarer on board the 5,920-teu Maersk Frankfurt (built 2024) on Sunday.
“The ship’s operator reports a body in the lashing bridge, but it is impossible to reach it because of the flames. The Indian authorities are focusing their efforts to fight the fire and guarantee the safety of the ship and the crew,” the PMA said in a statement.
The identity of the seafarer has not been publicly disclosed.
Updates from the Indian Coast Guard late on Sunday described the Maersk Frankfurt as being in stable condition, saying the fire had been suppressed although smoke continued to billow out from the vessel.
Indian Coast Guard vessels continued to tackle the blaze that broke out among the containers it was carrying caught fire on 19 July.
Indian authorities said over the weekend that they suspected the fire had been caused by an electrical short-circuit.
The Imabari-built Maersk Frankfurt, which Maersk operates on charter, is owned by Tokei Kaiun of Japan and managed by a Hong Kong unit of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, according to Equasis data. The Panamanian-flagged ship is classed by Japan’s ClassNK and has insurance from UK P&I Club.
The container ship sent out a distress call reporting a major fire while it was 50 nautical miles (93 km) off the Indian city of Karwar while on a voyage from Mundra to the Sri Lankan port of Colombo with 21 crew on board.
The vessel is reported to be in the Arabian Sea, approximately 6.5 nautical miles south of Karwar. It was on a voyage from Mundra to Sri Lanka when the fire broke out.
