Fire-ravaged Maersk Honam resumes service
CONTAINERSHIP Maersk Honam is due to return to service in August under the name of Maersk Halifax after having a new bow section and deck house fitted by Hyundai Heavy Industries to repair damage sustained in a fatal fire that claimed the lives of five crew members. The 2016-built, 15,262 TEU Maersk Honam was devastated by a fire on March 6 last year 900 nautical miles southeast of Salalah, Oman. The fire took a month to be fully extinguished and damaged the bow of the vessel beyond repair, reported Colchester's Seatrade Maritime News. Following the fire, the vessel was towed to the UAE where the fire damaged bow and deck house were removed at the Drydocks World Dubai. In February this year the largely undamaged aft section, including the engine room, was then floated onto a Cosco Shipping heavy lift vessel and shipped to HHI in South Korea. According to Alphaliner, the new bow was reshaped from the original vessel and a scrubber added to meet the requirements of the International Maritime Organization's sulphur cap (IMO 2020). The analyst said the vessel would return to service on the Asia- Mediterranean 'AE11/Jade' service of the 2M alliance on August 5.