General average declared on Maersk Frankfurt

General average has been declared on the badly burnt Maersk Frankfurt, a brand new 5,500 teu boxship which caught fire a week ago. 

Once the onboard containers are discharged from the vessel at a safe location, they will not be released for on-carriage or delivery until cargo interests have made the required security arrangements through the general average adjusters, Richards Hogg Lindley. 

While the Indian Coast Guard has deployed considerable resources to douse the fire, small blazes are still being reported in a number of containers. 

Professional salvors are now onboard the vessel to assist the Indian Coast Guard with surveying the damage and developing a plan for the vessel and continued fire-fighting operation. 

From aerial photos of the vessel, soot is distinguishable on containers in the third and fifth rows suggesting the fire was centralised to the fourth row, according to analysis from cargo insurer WK Webster.

The Imabari-built unit delivered in June and is owned by Tokei Kaiun of Japan, chartered to Maersk, and managed by a Hong Kong unit of Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, according to Equasis data.