A crew member reported as missing after an engine room fire on the container ship MSC Messina has been confirmed as dead.
The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement on 10 July that the 1995-built, 4,743TEU ship arrived in the city-state on 6 July and is now undergoing repairs in a local shipyard.
MSC Messina, which Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) chartered from Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS), was in the Bay of Bengal, 480 nautical miles away from Hambantota, Southern Sri Lankan coast when the fire broke out on 25 June.
One of the 28 crew members was subsequently reported missing. EPS decided to tow MSC Messina to Singapore, where the company is based.
MPA said that upon its arrival, all containers onboard MSC Messina were discharged, while the authority arranged to repatriate the body of a dead seafarer to his country. The seafarer’s nationality was not disclosed.
Six of the other crew members have been quarantined for 14 days at a dedicated facility, in accordance with Singapore’s Covid-19 measures. They will return to the ship after the quarantine period if they test negative for Covid-19, and thereafter be tested routinely as long as the ship remains under repair.
The agent has arranged for the remaining 21 crew members to sign off and return to their country of domicile.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
