MV ''MSC Fortunate'' (formerly MV ''Fortune'' and MV ''Hyundai Fortune''), was a
container ship
A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
owned by Kosmo SVCS Inc., and previously registered to
Hyundai Merchant Marine.
She was completed in August 1996 and sailed under the flag of
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
. She had a gross tonnage of 64,054 and was capable of speeds of up to 25
knots
A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines.
Knot or knots may also refer to:
Other common meanings
* Knot (unit), of speed
* Knot (wood), a timber imperfection
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Knots'' (film), a 2004 film
* ''Kn ...
. Her cargo capacity was .
[
As ''Hyundai Fortune'', she was severely damaged in a fire at sea on 21 March 2006.][ After repairs, she returned to service as a container ship until being scrapped in 2018.
]
Fire
On 21 March 2006, the vessel was en route from ports in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
through the Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...
about south of the coast of Yemen
Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...
. She was sailing west towards the Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
on the way to ports in Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. Around 1235 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
, an explosion of unknown origin occurred below deck, aft of the accommodation, causing 60 to 90 containers to fall into the ocean. The explosion caused a fire that spread through the stern of the ship, including the accommodation and the container stacks in front of the accommodation. Secondary explosions followed as seven containers full of fireworks
Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...
also ignited above deck on the stern.
Photos of the blazing ship showed a large section of the hull had been blown out below deck but above the waterline on the port side.
After efforts to contain the fire with the ship's water based suppression system failed, all 27 crew members abandoned ship and were rescued by the Dutch frigate
A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied.
The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
HNLMS ''De Zeven Provinciën'', which was performing maritime security operations in the area as part of Operation Enduring Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...
. One sailor was evacuated to the French aircraft carrier ''Charles de Gaulle'' with injuries that were not life-threatening.
On 23 March, firefighting tugs began to arrive on the scene. With her engine room burned and completely flooded, the listing ''Hyundai Fortune'' continued to burn for several days.
General average
The law of general average is a principle of maritime law whereby all stakeholders in a sea venture proportionately share any losses resulting from a voluntary sacrifice of part of the ship or cargo to save the whole in an emergency. For insta ...
was declared and at least one third of the containers were damaged by the blaze. Every container aft of the superstructure was either incinerated or lost overboard. Most of the containers forward of the superstructure were left intact, although after the ship lost power, any cargo in the refrigerated containers would have spoiled. An estimated 10 percent of the cargo was uninsured.Salalah
Salalah () is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani Governorates of Oman, governorate of Dhofar Governorate, Dhofar. It has a population close to 331,949.
Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest ...
, Oman
Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...
and 2,249 salvageable containers were offloaded for transhipment to Europe.US House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, "The cause of the fire is believed to have been a container loaded with petroleum-based cleaning fluids stowed near the engine room. The shipper failed to indicate the hazardous nature of this shipment to ''Hyundai Fortune'', undoubtedly to avoid the special handling fees associated with transporting hazardous materials."[ (269Kb)]
Repairs
The vessel was renamed ''Fortune'' and temporarily repaired for being towed to China for final repairs and refurbishing, including 5,000 tonnes of new steel and a new accommodation block.
The ship was repaired at COSCO Zhoushan Shipyard in Liuhen Dao Island in China in 2007-2008. In the course of the repairs the stern tube was confirmed to be nearly 100 mm lower than the main engine thrust sightline. With the technical assistance of Tecnitas of Bureau Veritas and BF Consultant of France, the ship repair yard straightened the hull and brought the stern tube back in line, for it to be final machined at a later stage of the rebuilding of the vessel.
The vessel was eventually delivered to its owner and resumed its activity as a container carrier. In 2018, she was scrapped in Alang.
References
External links
*
CTF 150 rescues 27 from burning ship off YemenLloyd's Salvage ReportsHazCheck Systems Firework embargo follows Hyundai Fortune loss
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyundai Fortune
Maritime incidents in 2006
1996 ships
Ships built by Hyundai Heavy Industries Group
Merchant ships of Panama
2006 fires
March 2006