A Hong Kong-flagged boxship exploded and caught fire in the Red Sea, some 226 km northwest of Hodeidah, Yemen.
In the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, the 1,930-teu, 2022-built ASL Bauhinia box ship caught fire in the southern Red Sea. The vessel is owned by Shanghai-based Asean Seas Line.
The all-Chinese-crewed vessel was on its way from Jebel Ali towards the Suez Canal with its final destination being Aqaba where it was set to arrive on January 31. According to MarineTraffic, it was supposed to make a port call in Jeddah on January 29.
Security consultancy Diaplous Maritime Services stated that the ship was posing a navigational hazard to other vessels in the area.
Ambrey, another security firm, claimed that the fire was related to an explosion involving dangerous cargo.
Reports claim that thick smoke is coming from the forward section of the containership. The crew has abandoned the vessel which is currently drifting.