Container Ships Ram into Each Other, Explode in Kaula Lampur

Two enormous cargo container ships collided in Port Klang near Kaula Lampur, Malaysia, causing a massive explosion and fire to break out on both ships.

The collision occurred about 8 p.m. Tuesday, October 28 when the San Felipe, a ship belonging to the Hamburg Sud line that carries a maximum of 9,000 cargo containers, brushed up against the Al Riffa, a ship belonging to the United Arab Shipping Company that can carry up to 13,500 cargo containers, that was berthed at an adjacent wharf. The collision apparently caused the cargo aboard both ships to catch fire.

The fire on the Al Riffa was larger than the blaze on the San Felipe and the ship was towed out to sea in order to prevent the blaze from jumping to the port. Fire departments used nine fire boats to fight the flames for several hours.

Meanwhile, the fire on the San Felipe was still burning two days after the incident, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department operations assistant director Mohd Sani Harul told the New Straits Times.

“There are no more red flames but the cargo in the containers is still burning, thus creating smoke,” Harul said. “The containers are sealed so we are just dousing the exterior with water to cool them down.”

There were no reported injuries. Several agencies are investigating the cause of the collision.