The week-long blaze aboard the Yantian Express has been contained, Hapag-Lloyd confirmed Thursday.
"Efforts to extinguish the fire have made continuous progress under the direction of the salvage company Smit and in cooperation with the Hapag-Lloyd crew on the scene as well as Hapag-Lloyd’s emergency-response team in Hamburg," the German liner operator said in a statement. "These combined efforts have allowed the fire to be largely contained and brought under control."
The fire broke out on the 2002-built, 7,510-teu ship 3 January. Four days later, the crew of 23 was evacuated as the fire increased in intensity.
Wednesday, a crew of five boarded the Yanitan Express. It is currently being towed at slow speeds by the Maersk Mobiliser. The company said the ship, originally destined for Halifax from Sri Lanka, is roughly 800 miles off the coast of Canada. A second tug is due to begin assistance 13 January.
The company said it is too early to estimate the damage.
The ship is insured by Britannia P&I and is expected to be one of four high-profile incidents where insurance providers are expected to pay out big claims.
