🚨⚓ 🌍Red Alert at Sea: Ship Fires, Container Losses – A Global Maritime Safety Challenge

In recent months, international maritime transport has faced several serious incidents involving ship fires and container losses, raising significant concerns about maritime safety.

🌊 Indonesia Passenger Ship Fire (2025)
A passenger ship carrying nearly 280 people caught fire off the coast of Indonesia, forcing many to jump into the sea to escape. Rescue efforts saved most passengers, however, the incident exposed the reality of aging vessels, poor maintenance, and overloading in the region.

🌊 Wan Hai 503 Container Ship Fire off India (2025)
A container ship carrying hazardous cargo exploded and caught fire, injuring crew members and resulting in some missing persons. The fire lasted for a prolonged period due to the flammable cargo, severely challenging firefighting efforts at sea.

🌊 Car Carrier Fire off Alaska, USA
A ship transporting approximately 3,000 vehicles, including many electric and hybrid cars with high fire risk, caught fire. This incident highlights new challenges in sea transport of advanced technology goods.

🌊  Severe Container Loss Incidents of Evergreen (2025)

Evergreen Shipping Line faced successive accidents in South America:

 

• On July 29, 2025, the ship Ever Feat encountered rough seas off Brazil-Uruguay, causing the collapse of many containers, including those holding fertilizers and chemicals, raising environmental risks and disrupting port operations in Montevideo.

 

• On August 1, 2025, the Ever Lunar ship anchored off Callao, Peru, experienced a sudden shift that caused about 50 containers to fall overboard. Most containers contained plastic goods and were not deemed environmentally hazardous by authorities. The incident forced Callao port to temporarily close, severely impacting the regional supply chain.

 

                                                     Picture: Evergreen’s Ever Lunar vessel involved in an accident (August 1, 2025)

 

⚠️ Risk Analysis:

• Transporting hazardous goods such as chemicals, fertilizers, and lithium batteries increases the risk of fires and serious accidents.

 

• Severe weather, rough seas, and sudden ship movements reduce cargo safety and increase container loss or ship fire risks.

 

• Aging ships, inadequate maintenance, and insufficient firefighting systems reduce emergency response capability.

 

• Container loss has severely negative environmental, economic, and logistical impacts.

 

💡 Necessary Solutions:

• Strict control and monitoring of hazardous cargo following international safety standards.

 

• Upgrading firefighting systems to meet the needs of diverse modern cargo.

 

• Comprehensive training and emergency drills for crews on firefighting and incident response.

 

• Enhanced inspection and maintenance to minimize technical and weather-related risks.

 

Maritime safety protects not only lives and property but also marine environments and global supply chain stability. Recent ship fires and container loss incidents serve as a critical wake-up call urging the international shipping industry to raise standards and emergency preparedness in the coming years.