MSC Flaminia blast cause still unknown, insurers slow on General Average

CAUSES of explosion and fire aboard the 6,750-TEU MSC Flaminia mid-Atlantic last July remain a mystery at Wilhelmshaven with some underwriters refusing to go through with a General Average before their cargo is unloaded and inspected, reports London's Containerisation International.

The ship, with its No 4 hold still smouldering from the explosion which killed three seamen and injured two others, was allowed to dock at the new German port of Wilhelmshaven in September.

It has been alleged - since denied by MSC - that the ship was carrying containers of the combustible bleaching agent calcium hypochlorite.

After a fire onboard the 8,194-TEU Charlotte Maersk in July 2010, Maersk Line banned the carriage of the chemical - UNNO 2880, UNNO 1748, UNNO 2208, UNNO 1479 - which is used as a shock treatment in the maintenance of swimming pools, said the report.