Containership Ablaze and Drifting in Red Sea After Crew Abandons Ship

The crew of a Chinese-owned containership reportedly abandoned the vessel this morning in the Red Sea after a fire broke out. Few details have been released, but it is believed to possibly be a container fire and not an attack from the Houthi rebels which have promised to honor the Gaza ceasefire.

The vessel is the ASL Bauhinia (24,727 dwt) built in China in 2022. It is owned by Asean Sea Lines, a Shanghai-based regional carrier, which started operations in 2011. The company highlighted that the vessel entered service in October 2022 as its first 1,900 TEU vessel. It is registered in Hong Kong and classed by Japan’s ClassNK.

The ship departed the Jebel Ali commercial terminal in Dubai on January 22 and reports it was bound for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The posted schedule shows the vessel due to arrive in Saudi Arabia today, January 28, and then proceed to Aqaba, Jordan.

A fire was reported aboard the vessel around midnight and the crew later reported they were abandoning ship. Associated Press reported the crew was rescued by another passing vessel. 

The current position of the containership is reported approximately 140 miles off the coast of Hodeida, Yemen according to the Diaplous Group. They are reporting the vessel is ablaze and drifting.