Crew abandons Chinese feeder vessel on fire in the Red Sea

A Hong Kong-flagged feeder vessel is stranded in the Gulf of Aden after a fire broke out onboard yesterday (27 January) forcing its crew to abandon ship.

At the time of writing, reports suggest the fire was sparked by dangerous goods aboard the 1,930 teu ASL Bauhinia, although its position in Red Sea has raised concerns that it may have been the result of an attack by the Iran-backed Houthi militia.

The vessel appeared to be operating on behalf of CU Lines, on a regular rotation between Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan’s port of Aqaba.

According to the vesselsvalue.com database, the vessel is classed by Japan’s Nippon Kaiji Kyokai and is insured by the UK Mutual Steam Ship Assurance Association.

However, the eeSea liner database shows that, up to last September, the ship was operating on behalf of Asean Seas and Zim on their joint China-Philippines NPX Service.

Following the commencement of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel this month, the Houthis had pledged to limit attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea to vessels linked to Israel.

While the ASL Bauhinia’s NPX designation appears to have ceased in September, the Houthis have previously mistaken other vessels as having connections to Israel, leading to suggestions that this may have been yet another case, although neither Zim nor CU Lines has yet responded to requests for comment.

According to news agency Reuters, the crew are safe after being picked up by another vessel, but other reports have warned of navigational issues for ships close to the abandoned ASL Bauhinia.

Meanwhile, Vespucci Maritime chief executive Lars Jensen suggested that the next stage would be organising salvage and the likely declaration of General Average on its cargo.

However, he also questioned whether shippers insured against General Average would be able to claim, given the location of the casualty.

“For the shippers, the interesting part will then be whether the location is seen as a ‘risk area’ by their insurance company – and if it is, whether they are covered,” he said.