Ship due in Australia abandoned

A CONTAINER SHIP due to have joined MSC’s Koala service in Hong Kong next week [30 September] was abandoned by its 25 crew yesterday morning for reasons yet to be revealed.

The 2490 TEU MSC Hermes III issued a distress call at 0845 while on a voyage from Jakarta to Shanghai, where it was due on Saturday, according to AIS. Some reports list the voyage as ex Shanghai and Hong Kong for Jakarta.

Singapore's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre picked up the call from the vessel, which was located about 300 kilometres east of Vietnam. All crew members abandoned ship in a lifeboat and were picked up by one of two other MSC ships in the vicinity, the 13,092 MSC Ruby. The third company ship was the 2572 TEU MSC Turin III, which remains in attendance according to AIS.

No injuries were reported but the cause of the abandonment had not been disclosed at time of writing. MRCC Singapore coordinated with Vietnam's rescue body to arrange for the seafarers to reach shore. MSC Hermes III is currently reported as “derelict”, but afloat and drifting north-east at about 2 knots.

MSC Hermes III was listed to arrive Fremantle from Singapore 13 October, Port Adelaide 21 October and Melbourne 23 October, before returning to Shanghai via Jakarta.

The ship was renamed earlier this year, having spent over five years as MSC Hermes. Under its original name, Hermes, it traded with Australia under charter to CMA CGM and Hyundai Merchant Marine I 2007 and 2009 respectively.

MSC has had a bad run for its Australasian services lately. The 1,114 TEU Medkon Ten, deployed on the newly-reconstituted Noumea-Fiji Loop, was towed into Brisbane on 9 September with engine problems which were expected to be resolved in 12 hours. However, the ship only departed for Noumea on Monday [21 September] after requiring parts from overseas.

The other recent local initiative, the Northern Loop operating Port Botany, Auckland, Napier, Tauranga, Port Botany, surrendered the 2,556 TEU MSC Lucia III to fill a northbound gap in the Eagle service to North America.

Consequently, both new loops have been obliged to blank several voyages.