The captain of a Hapag-Lloyd container vessel has been reported missing in the Mediterranean.
The 4,250-teu Algeciras Express (built 2002) arrived in Algeciras, Spain, earlier this month without the Filipino national on board.
Police authorised the vessel to leave the port for the Tanger-Med terminal with a new Ukrainian captain after a search of the master’s cabin found nothing unusual.
AIS data showed the boxship moored in Tanger-Med on Thursday. There had been a delay in bringing the ship into port while a replacement master was found.
The vessel had left Yalova in Turkey on 30 June. The crew reported the man missing three days later.
Police took a statement from the first officer, the Europa Sur website said.
The master’s name has been included on an international list of missing persons and forwarded to flag state Liberia and the Philippines.
The Algeciras Express has a crew of 28, mainly Filipino seafarers.
The vessel was sold in May to GG Holdings I by giant Canadian leasing company Seaspan Corp and has insurance through the North of England club.
Profit surges in first quarter
Hapag-Lloyd is the world’s fifth-largest liner company.
It has had an extraordinarily strong start to the year with profits surging 220% on the back of higher freight rates.
Earnings rose to $4.7bn in the first three months of 2022, up from $1.45bn in the same period last year.
The improvement resulted from ongoing disruption in supply chains that sucked capacity out of the market.
