MV Hyundai Fortune

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The M/V Hyundai Fortune is a container ship registered to Hyundai Merchant Marine. It was badly burned in an accidental fire March 21, 2006.

The Fortune was built in September 1996 and sails under the flag of Panama. It has a gross tonnage of 64,054 tons and is capable of speeds of up to 25 knots. Its cargo capacity is 5,551 TEUs.

On March 21, the vessel was on its way from ports in China and Singapore through the Gulf of Aden about 60 miles south of the coast of Yemen. It was sailing west towards the Suez Canal on the way to ports in Europe. Around 1235 UTC, a huge explosion of unknown origin occurred below deck and aft of the accommodation, sending 60 to 90 containers tumbling into the ocean. The explosion caused a massive blaze that spread through the stern of the ship, including the accommodation and the stacks in front of the accommodation. Secondary explosions followed as 7 containers full of fireworks also ignited above deck on the stern.

Photos of the blazing ship showed a large chunk of the hull had been blown out below deck and above the waterline on the port side.

After efforts to contain the fire failed, all 27 crew members abandoned ship and were rescued by the Dutch destroyer HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën. De Zeven Provinciën was performing maritime security operations in the area as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. One sailor was evacuated to the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle with non-life-threatening injuries.

On March 23, firefighting tugs began to arrive on the scene. With its engine room burned and completely flooded, the listing Hyundai Fortune continued to burn for several days.

General average was declared and it appears at least one third of the containers were damaged by the blaze. Every container aft of the superstructure was either incinerated or lost at sea. Most of the containers forward of the superstructure were left intact, although after the ship lost power, any cargo in the refrigerated containers had likely spoiled.

The combined cost of the ship and lost cargo is now estimated at over 300 million US dollars. However, though the Fortune is still floating, experts predict its hull may be irreparable, and will have to be scrapped. The hull was eventually towed to Salalah, Oman and the sound containers were offloaded for transport on other ships to Europe. The empty hull is now off the coast of the UAE awaiting its fate, most likely the ship breakers in Pakistan or India. Hyundai Merchant Marine and other slot charter companies are expected to suffer massive losses as a result of the incident.

Theories concerning the cause of the explosion vary. The pool chemical calcium hypochlorite reacts violently when exposed to moisture or heat, and has been involved or suspected in other explosions aboard container ships in recent years. Notable examples include Sea Elegance, M/V Hanjin Pennsylvania, CMA Djakarta, Aconcagua, Sea Land Mariner and M/V DG Harmony. Investigators also considered the possibility that volatile cargo (specifically, the 7 containers of fireworks) may have detonated due to heat, triggering the larger explosion that crippled the ship.

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