ONE Containership Returned to Port of LA Dock to Discharge Cargo

With the firefighting efforts completed and the fire aboard the vessel reportedly contained, the ONE Henry Hudson was shifted late on November 26 from the anchorage one mile offshore back to a berth in the Port of Los Angeles. The plan calls for offloading the containers that were affected by the fire, as well as others that were scheduled for discharge when the fire began on November 21.

The Unified Command established by the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Port of Los Angeles, oversaw a complex operation to shift the vessel back to the berth. The Port of Los Angeles reported that due to vessel operations, the Vincent Thomas Bridge, which crosses Los Angeles Harbor linking San Pedro with Terminal Island, would be closed. The Unified Command also said that firefighting assets would be alongside while the vessel was shifted from the anchorage and would remain on standby once the vessel arrived back at its berth.

ONE Henry Hudson was secured before midnight at the Yusen Terminal at the Port of Los Angeles. The salvage crew will be working with the longshore labor crews in the next phase of the operation.

 

ONE Henry Hudson was anchored one mile offshore (Port of Los Angeles)

 

The reports emphasized that all the hazardous materials have been contained on the vessel, including the firefighting water. Crews had reconfirmed the vessel’s stability before the move because of the amount of firefighting water in the no. 3 hold. The plan is to pump the water off the ship for treatment on shore. They are also continuing air monitoring on the ship and in the port.

Before the move could begin, longshore crews completed lashing of the ship’s cargo on Wednesday. The vessel had been discharging cargo in the port when the fire began, and it was evacuated. It had been moved to the anchorage early on November 22.

 

 

A team from Donjon-SMIT is managing the salvage operation. There still have not been any confirmed reports on how many containers were in the affected area of the vessel. The ship has a capacity of 9,100 TEU when full, but images show fewer containers were aboard when the fire began.

The crew aboard the containership initially reported the fire as an electrical incident. An investigation is planned into the cause of the fire.