CMA CGM Invokes General Average After Cargo Hold Fire
With salvage efforts underway after a cargo hold fire, CMA CGM has informed customers that it is invoking General Average for the incident involving the CMA CGM Petra. The latest fire on a containership adds further emphasis to recent reports from the World Shipping Council on the persistent danger from cargo deficiencies.
The 86,715-dwt containership registered in France is currently docked in Port Klang, Malaysia, having reached the berth on September 11. It had been holding offshore while a salvage team from SMIT was managing the situation that had begun on August 22. The LNG-fueled containership is one of the newest in the CMA CGM fleet, having only been delivered by HD Hyundai at the end of 2024, and it is employed on a route from Asia to East Africa. The ship has a rating for 8,048 TEU with 800 reefer plugs.
CMA CGM had advised customers that the crew discovered a fire in one of the holds on August 22 while the ship was in the Malacca Strait approximately 45 nautical miles northwest of Penang. The crew was able to contain the fire, with assistance from the team from SMIT and several fireboats. The ship had been sailing toward Kenya but reported it was diverting to Malaysia. There were no reports of injuries to the crew.
The ship had made its last port call in Singapore. It was operating on an adjusted schedule due to the typhoons that struck China in August. Scheduled calls at Shanghai and Ningbo had been omitted with alternate stops in Qingdao and Nansha.
The reports have not indicated the extent of the damage, but the adjusters were saying that 450 containers were due to be offloaded for inspection in Malaysia. It was also pointed out that because the fire was in one of the holds, the boxes in the area would have been exposed to the heat and smoke, as well as firefighting water or chemicals.
CMA CGM signed a Lloyd’s Standard Form of Salvage, which observers said was likely the first step toward General Average. It has also announced the use of a professional salvage team.
The fire is the latest in a series of high-profile incidents and emphasizes the continued dangers to vessels. The World Shipping Council recently issued data showing that one in ten cargo surveys show deficiencies. It is also calling for a tightening of rules pertaining to the shipment of lithium batteries, and this follows enhanced rules for the shipment of charcoal.
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Reports indicate that this was the second fire in 12 months that CMA CGM experienced in the Malacca Strait, after a cargo fire on the CMA CGM J. Madison in August 2025. Claims consultants WK Webster show that the fire on the CMA CGM Petra was followed by reports of a fire on September 4 aboard the Maersk Lanco off Brazil. The 8,700 TEU vessel made port on September 11 and was the second containership fire WK Webster lists under casualties after a four-month lull and the fourth containership fire in 2026.
The World Shipping Council pointed out that the latest statistics from insurer Allianz indicate that a containership fire occurs on average every 17 days.
