Shippers have been asked to voluntarily own up to any misdeclaration of cargo on board a Cosco container vessel which was forced to reroute to Colombo in Sri Lanka after the contents of one of its containers caught fire.
The 10 000-TEU ship, bound for the Port of Nhava Sheva on India’s north-western shore, was crossing the Bay of Bengal when its cargo hold started smouldering.
According to reports inspections are currently under way while the vessel remains moored in Colombo.
At the same time a ‘friendly invitation’ has been extended to any shippers who may have wilfully misdeclared their cargo to assist with ongoing investigations into the new year’s first incident of a cargo line fire.
The ship, Cosco Pacific, left Malaysia on January 3 and arrived in Sri Lanka two days later.
No injuries were sustained by any of the crew and the fire has been brought under control.
The Pacific’s cargo was offloaded in Colombo and further stops on the current route, which include several berths on China’s southern shore, have been indefinitely delayed. – Eugene Goddard
