The Malaysian National Fire and Rescue Department reported that the container ship MV 'Kyparissia' (0,461 DWT), owned and operated by Costamare and chartered regularly to Maersk, caught fire on Friday, 7 November, at noon while berthing at the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Malaysia. Initially, the port's firefighting boat fought hard to extinguish the flames before the National Fire and Rescue Department's team came in to assist.

A Maersk spokesperson confirmed the tragic event, saying that an explosion occurred on board during theloading process. Reports then indicated that the subsequent fire broke out below the deck in the fifth cargo hold of the vessel, which had a container capacity of 4,957U. The ship operated on a route that included Onne in Nigeria, Cotonou in Benin, and Singapore. The vessel was registered in Malta.

Mak confirmed that three people, including a crew member, sadly perished in the incident. "At this time, we are unable to determine the full impact of the fire on the and the cargo on board. We are working closely with PTP, the relevant authorities, the shipowner, and the ship manager to manage the situation and will provide updates as more becomes available," it said.

Another Maersk vessel also caught fire. The container ship 'Laust Maersk', of 4,258U, encountered a fire in one of its cargo holds while on a voyage from Charleston to Cartagena in Colombia and is currently at anchor outside Charleston Harbor.

On November, the 24-year-old container ship, built in 2001 and flying the flag of Hong Kong, China, reported smoke in one of its holds, and the crew immediately took safety measures. The vessel is currently in a stable condition and undergoing a comprehensive inspection by the relevant authorities.

In a statement released to the, Maersk said: "We can confirm that on 5 November, the container ship 'Laust Maersk' encountered smoke in one of its cargo holds while on voyage from Charleston to Cartagena, Colombia."

At present, the vessel is at anchor outside Charleston Harbor, and the operations team and relevant authorities are executing the necessary protocols to assess the situation on board. Maersk confirmed that they are in close communication with those responsible for managing the incident.

Once the inspection is completed and port permission received, the 'Laust Maersk' is expected to berth and, in coordination with the relevant authorities, unload the affected containers in accordance with safety regulations.

The company added: "Our teams are working to minimize disruptions to our customers' logistics operations."

No injuries have been reported thus far, and the stability of the has not been affected as the investigation continues.

Container fires and the dangers posed by cargo that is inadequately packed or incorrectly identified remain a key concern for the industry The industry is developing new tools, including the use of artificial intelligence, to help identify dangerous goods. Container fires were listed as one of the main hazards in the 202 report by insurer Allianz Commercial, which stated that misdeclared cargo continues to be a major cause of fires