One of HMM’s container ships, HMM Tacoma, has been anchored in South African waters for the last two weeks after a fire broke out in one of the container holds off Mozambique.
Vessel-tracking data from S&P Global shows that the 2009-built, 6,350 TEU HMM Tacoma has been anchored around Ngqura in South Africa since 5 January.
Container News was informed by HMM’s spokesperson that smoke was detected in one of the vessel’s container holds on 29 December 2024, while the ship was transiting Mozambique after setting out from Mundra, India.
HMM Tacoma is deployed to the South Korean flagship carrier’s Far East-India-Latin America (FIL) service. Since September 2023, the ship has been running on biofuels supplied by South Korean refiner GS Caltex.
The incident was reported to South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on 2 January, and the Central Maritime Tribunal is currently investigating the cause of the fire.
HMM’s spokesperson said: “The fire was promptly extinguished using carbon dioxide. As part of our procedure, some boxes were offloaded at the Coega port (in South Africa). Once the carbon dioxide recharge is completed, the vessel will resume its voyage according to the original schedule. The fire did not affect the vessel’s operations, and we have already notified the shippers regarding this incident.”
Alison Koo
Asia Correspondent
