Recently, a container explosion incident occurred at the new port in Incheon, South Korea, raising concerns about port safety.

According to local media reports, at around 8:50 p.m. on August 28th, a 40-foot Maersk container at container terminal in Songdo-dong, Yonsu District, Incheon, exploded violently while being stored in the yard, causing severe damage to the goods on site and debris over a range of hundreds of meters. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

The initial report stated that the container was carrying second-hand cars and air conditioning equipment, but information has not yet been confirmed by the official authorities.

After the incident, the Incheon Fire Department and the police quickly sealed off the scene, evacuated the surrounding workers dispatched 3 fire engines and 15 rescue personnel, and lifted the alarm after confirming that there was no risk of secondary disasters.

Maersk confirmed the explosion incident a British media outlet and stated that it would fully cooperate with the investigation. "We can confirm that at around 8:50 p.m. on August 28 (Thursday), a Maersk container exploded in the yard of Hanjin Container Terminal in Incheon. So far, there have been no reports of injuries. We are fully the investigation by the Incheon Police Department. We are unable to provide more details at this stage as the investigation is ongoing."

The cause of the explosion has yet to determined. Maersk said the explosion had a temporary impact on the operation of the container terminal.

According to industry insiders, some freight forwarders will mix second- cars with other sundry goods (such as household items, electrical appliances, etc.) in containers to maximize space utilization.

【Related Information】

Inche Port is located on the south bank of the estuary of the Han River in the northwest coast of the Republic of Korea, facing the east side of Ganghwa Bay. It is the import and export trade center of northern Korea and is about 40 kilometers away from the capital city of Seoul. The GDP of the economic hinterland of Incheon Port for 48.7% of the total GDP of Korea, and the volume of imported goods accounts for nearly 70% of the total volume of imported goods in the Republic of Korea. The new port of Incheon is located at the southern end of Songdo International New City, which is an extended area of the outer port of Incheon Port