Containership fires continue to pose a serious threat to the global shipping industry, with the latest incident occurring this week at Sri Lanka’s port of Colombo. In the early hours of Sunday, a fire broke out aboard the MSC Capetown III while it was docked at the Jaya Container Terminal (JCT), as reported by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA).

The fire, believed to have originated in the under-deck cargo space, quickly escalated into an explosion. The SLPA praised the rapid response of firefighters for preventing what could have been a catastrophic event. “Our firefighters, led by the harbour master, in collaboration with other port services, acted swiftly to extinguish the fire and safely remove affected cargo,” said Operations Director HJ Kumara.

Media reports indicate that the vessel’s manifest data showed only one dangerous cargo container, which had already been offloaded along with 60 other boxes before any fire or smoke was detected. The Madeira-flagged vessel, operating on MSC’s South-east Asia-East Africa service, had arrived from Singapore and was scheduled to perform 995 container discharges and 880 container lifts. Colombo, a key intermediate hub in Asia, handles the majority of the Indian Subcontinent’s containerized transshipment trade.

While no injuries were reported, the SLPA has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire and assess the status of the cargo remaining on board. This incident follows two other major ship fires in recent weeks: one on the Maersk Frankfurt, off the Indian coast, and another involving an explosion and fire on the YM Mobility at Ningbo Port in China.

These recent incidents highlight the ongoing challenges and risks associated with containership fires, emphasizing the need for continued vigilance and swift action in the face of such emergencies.