Disabled Maersk Containership Towed to Shipyard in Spain

The Maersk Elba containership, which was disabled by an engine room fire while sailing off Portugal, was unable to make repairs on its own and is now heading to a shipyard. The containership is expected to arrive at Algeciras, Spain on December 31, where it will undergo temporary repairs before resuming her voyage to Europe.  

The Portuguese National Maritime (AMN) authority said that despite the work carried out to restore the ship's propulsion and repair other systems affected by the fire, it was concluded that the safety conditions were not met for the ship to sail under its own power. AMN reports that it had been in contact with the ship’s owners as well as the Port Captain of Lagos, near where the ship was anchored.

Maersk opted to dispatch two tugs to assist the Maersk Elba. The ship departed the anchorage in tow bound for the Algeciras shipyard. The Portuguese Navy’s vessel the NRP Cassiopeia is also accompanying the tow. The Navy ship was one of the vessels that responded to the Maersk Elba’s call for assistance. 

On December 26, the 148,723DWT Danish-flagged container ship reported that it was adrift without propulsion due to a fire in the engine room. While the crew was successful in putting out the fire, the vessel remained disabled and was anchored off Sagres, Portugal while the crew with assistance from shore attempted to complete repairs.

This afternoon, MSC also issued an alert to its customers reporting that the ship was carrying containers for MSC as part of its Shogun-Pearl service. MSC said that it regretted any inconvenience and would advise customers as soon as it had updates on the status of the ship.

The Maersk Elba had departed India on December 14 and was sailing to Felixstowe, England, where she was due to arrive on December 30.