The crew of the boxship that abandoned the ship which caught fire in the Red Sea has been rescued unharmed.
The Hong Kong-flagged boxship ASL Bauhinia exploded and caught fire some 226 km northwest of Hodeidah, Yemen, in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday.
The vessel is owned by Shanghai-based Asean Seas Line and operated by Emirates Shipping Lines. It was deployed on the latter’s Gulf Red Sea Connector connector between Jebel Ali to Aqaba. The 1,930 teu containership was supposed to reach Aqaba on January 31 with a stop in Jeddah on January 29.
According to reports, the explosion and fire on the 2022-built vessel were caused by hazardous cargo. Even though the vessel caught fire in an area where the Houthi have been wreaking havoc on commercial shipping since November 2023, there is no indication of their involvement in the incident.
A maritime industry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press that the 22-strong all-Chinese crew abandoned the vessel and were later rescued unharmed. The vessel is now adrift.
Analyst Lars Jensen, chief executive at Danish consultancy Vespucci Maritime, said that the situation could develop into a general average situation and that shippers with cargo on the ASL Bauhinia would be well advised to check their insurance coverage.
Fire Strands ASL Bauhinia in Gulf of Aden, Crew Rescued pic.twitter.com/kUkmuh5Yrw
