Maersk Frankfurt Explosion Leads to One Fatality at Sea

The Panamanian Maritime Authority (Autoridad Marítima de Panamá; AMP) has confirmed that one person was killed after a Panama-registered containership suffered an onboard explosion and subsequent fire while in the Arabian Sea off India on Thursday, July 18. The incident involving the 255-metre Maersk Frankfurt occurred shortly after 14:00 local time on Thursday while it was underway approximately 50 nautical miles off the city of Karwar in Karnataka state. The AMP said the ship’s operator had reported the presence of a body on the lashing bridge, though the deceased individual cannot be reached due to the flames.

Indian Coast Guard vessels were deployed to extinguish the blaze on the containership Maersk Frankfurt in the Arabian Sea on July 21, 2024. Initial reports indicated that the blast was caused by an electrical short, leading to a fire that spread across the ship and its cargo of containers. The coast guard confirmed that evacuation was not yet necessary, but efforts to contain the fire were ongoing.

The ship’s captain reported that anchoring was not feasible due to melting containers compromising the forecastle area, making it unsafe for the crew to reach. The vessel, en route from Mundra in Gujarat to Colombo, Sri Lanka, was advised to change course to move farther away from shore as the coast guard continued firefighting operations. The Filipino national who tragically lost their life in the explosion was the only fatality among the 21 crew members on board.

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