The crew of a Grimaldi vessel had to abandon ship this week, making it the third time in the past 60 days that a container vessel has been damaged by fire. 

The ro-ro/container vessel ‘Grande America” was travelling from Hamburg to Casablanca when fire broke out, causing the master to take the unavoidable decision to abandon the 26 crew and 1 passenger from the 1300 teu ship.

The British frigate HMS Argyll, responded to the mayday call in the Bay of Biscay and all parties were rescued by Royal Marines amid very heavy seas.

The latest incident follows fires on the 7,500 teu Yantian Express on January 10th and the 9,200 teu APL Vancouver on January 31st. Both vessels were subject to ‘general average’ declarations and the same is expected in this third case.

General average is a legal principle of Maritime Law, whereby all parties involved in a particular voyage, are required to proportionally share the losses resulting from a major loss or sacrifice of cargo. Read More in our previous article HERE.

Uniserve continue to urge customers to protect themselves against general average claims by ensuring they have the right cargo insurance in place or by arranging insurance with us at the time of shipment. If you are in any doubt, then please speak to your local Uniserve representative.

To find out more about how Uniserve’s services can help you add leverage to your supply chain,  then please email info@ugroup.co.uk or call 01375 856060.

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