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Container ship arrived in Santos after deadly accident during SAR operation
The 'Aeolian Arrow' arrived its port of destination, Santos, on Oct 22. Portugal’s Maritime Accident Investigation Office (GAMA) has launched an investigation into the circumstances of the fatality during the rescue operation for the crew of the the 'Espirito Santos Express', when the chief officer fell overboard during the recovery of its rescue boat. Meanwhile, the firefighting operations were ongoing aboard the 'Espirito Santo Express', with the extent of damage to the vessel and cargo still undetermined. On Oct 22, Hapag-Lloyd confirmed that efforts were focused on controlling the fire and stabilising the Seaspan-owned vessel, which was sailing from Singapore to Santos. While all 28 crew members were safely evacuated and accounted for, the vessel’s condition and the status of individual shipments remained under assessment. Smoke was initially observed coming from cargo in the cargo bay area forward of the accommodation block, before a fire developed. The vessel’s charterers and relevant maritime, flag state, coastal and SAR authorities were immediately notified. Professional salvors from SMIT have been engaged under Lloyd’s Open Form (LOF) salvage terms to assist the vessel, which was adrift following the incident. No confirmed timeline has been provided for completing firefighting operations, assessing cargo damage or resuming the voyage. Hapag-Lloyd wascurrently unable to determine the condition of individual containers or when detailed cargo assessments could become available. Affected customers would be informed as verified updates emerged, with no immediate action required unless they were contacted directly. The Ocean Network Express (ONE), which operated the vessel on its SX1 service, confirmed in an Oct 21 advisory that information on affected containers, cargo damage and contingency arrangements remained unavailable. No revised ETA has been provided.
Chief Officer got lost during rescue operation
After the fire broke out on the container ship 'Espirito Santo Express' (IMO: 9793923) on Oct 15, the 28 crew members were unable to contain the blaze and forced to abandon ship into a lifeboat and a liferaft. At 7:06 p.m. UTC, The Brasilian authorities issued the NAVAREA V Warning 0648/26, reporting the vessel on fire, abandoned, and adrift in vicinity of pos. 28°07.87' S 026°56.90' W. The MRCC Rio de Janeiro designated the 'Aeolian Arrow', which was also bound for Santos, enroute from Bandar Khomeini, as the On-Scene Coordinator (OSC). Despite rough seas, heavy swell, and strong currents, the crew of the ship launched their rescue boat and successfully recovered all crew members from the burning container ship, 19 from the lifeboat and nine from a liferaft. While the 'Aeolian Arrow' was recovering its own rescue boat alongside, violent swells and currents caused the small craft to lurch abruptly. The Chief Officer of the ship was thrown overboard into the raging sea, while the rescue boat was swamped and lost. Crew members immediately threw lifebuoys with lines and rigged a cargo net over the side in desperate attempts to hoist him back aboard. Exhausted by the ordeal and battered by heavy seas, the Chief Officer was unable to maintain his hold on the recovery equipment and disappeared beneath the surface. A massive SAR operation remained active on scene for the missing Chief Officer. Multiple commercial vessels in the South Atlantic altered course and converged on the coordinates to assist in the search. The Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira) deployed an Embraer KC-390 Millennium (CS: SAR60) from Rio de Janeiro, flying a direct high-speed transit to the incident area to provide aerial search coverage. The abandoned 'Espirito Santo Express' remained adrift in the South Atlantic as salvage and assessment operations got underway
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