TO BE DELETED

On 3 January, a fire broke out in one container on the deck of the Yantian Express and spread to additional containers. Due to bad weather conditions, the fire has not been successfully contained yet and has significantly increased in intensity at times. Despite the ongoing firefighting support from the salvage tug “Smit Nicobar”, the fire has not been extinguished yet.

For this reason, a decision was made for a partial evacuation of the crew. The complete crew is unharmed and 11 Members were safely transferred to the “Smit Nicobar” on 5 January. The captain and an emergency crew are currently still on board the Yantian Express. Further developments of the situation on the vessel are being monitored closely, and the firefighting efforts with the salvage tug are ongoing.

At this time, it is not possible to make a precise estimate of any damage to Yantian Express or its cargo. Hapag-Lloyd is in close cooperation with all relevant authorities.

The 7,510 TEU Yantian Express, which is 320 meters long and sails under German flag in the East Coast Loop 5 (EC5) service, was built in 2002 and was on its way from Colombo to Halifax via the Suez Canal. At present, the ship is approximately 800 nautical miles off the coast of Canada (Nova Scotia).

Press contact
[email protected] +49 40 3001 2291

About Hapag-Lloyd
With a fleet of 222 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 1.6 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies. The Company has around 12,000 employees and 394 offices in 127 countries. Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of 2.6 million TEU – including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers. A total of 120 liner services worldwide ensure fast and reliable connections between more than 600 ports on all the continents. Hapag-Lloyd is one of the leading operators in the Transatlantic, Middle East, Latin America and Intra-America trades.

Disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such statements are based on a number of assumptions, estimates, projections or plans that are inherently subject to significant risks, uncertainties and contingencies. Actual results can differ materially from those anticipated in the Company's forward-looking statements.