…Two Crew Medevaced as MOL Boxship Drifted off BC after Engine Fire***

Ship management firm Anglo-Eastern said that it has lost contact with one of its managed oil products tanker as of February 1.

The 45,989 dwt oil products tanker Marine Express was at the Cotonou Anchorage, Benin, when it was last contacted.

The region is notorious for piracy groups that target commercial ships and often kidnap seafarers for ransom.

The vessel, carrying 22 crew members on board, was in part laden condition with some 13,500 tons of gasoline.

“All the appropriate authorities have been alerted and are responding,” the company said.

“The manager’s first priority is the safety of the 22 crew members onboard, whose families have been contacted and informed of the situation. Further information will be provided as it becomes available.”

The report comes in less than a month since 22 crew members of another tanker were taken by pirates while their ship was at anchor off Benin, West Africa.

On January 18, the Marshall Islands-flagged tanker MT Barrett and its 22 crew members were released from captivity after a six-day ordeal.

The owner of the ship Union Maritime did not disclose the terms of the crew’s release, which might have included paying of ransom.

Meanwhile, two crew members of Post Panamax containership MOL Prestige have been airlifted after they sustained injuries in a fire that broke out on the vessel on February 1.

The engine fire has left the boxship adrift 207 nautical miles south-west of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia.

Having received the report, the Canadian Coast Guard dispatched a Cormorant helicopter to the scene to render assistance.

“Search and rescue crews from 442 Squadron have hoisted two crew members from MOL Prestige and are transporting them to medical care aboard a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter,” the Coast Guard said.

CCGS Sir Wilfrid Laurier icebreaker has also been deployed to the scene, but is yet to arrive, according to the latest update from the coast guard.

The extent and cause of the fire are yet to be determined.

According to local media reports, five crew members of a total of 23 onboard were injured in the fire, but two sailors suffered severe injuries.

The 6,350 TEU containership was built in 2006 and is owned by Mitsui O.S.K Lines.

World Maritime News