Immediate repairs to the Emma Maersk have been completed according to schedule. The ship is now being towed to a repair facility. The full extent of damage to the engines will then be assessed and the work of restoring it will begin.
On 1 February 2013, the Emma Maersk, currently Maersk Line’s largest container vessel, experienced an ingress of water into the engine room. It had just commenced its southbound transit through the Suez Canal en route to Asia. The captain decided to terminate the planned voyage and go alongside the nearby Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT). Whilst the exact cause of the incident is still being investigated, it has been confirmed that the water came in through a breach in the stern thruster tunnel. The ship was loaded with containers equivalent to 13,537 TEU of which 6,425 were full.
Beginning of a Long Journey
Palle Laursen, Maersk Line’s Head of Ship Management in Copenhagen, says, 'We are delighted that Emma is on the route back towards full service. However, this only the beginning of a long journey – once she gets to the repair facility it will still be several months before repairs are completed.'
Alternate Routings
Alternative arrangements for the cargo have been made whereby sensitive cargo was loaded onto Maersk Line’s existing network shortly after the incident. Further contingencies and schedules have been finalised as part of the cargo was loaded on Maersk Kotka (16B/1301) on 11 Feb, some of the cargo were loaded on CC Medea (3FO/933E) on 12 February, and the remaining eastbound cargo was loaded onto Maersk Kokura (98A/1305) on 18 February.
Maersk Line is able to reorganise its fleet without chartering replacement tonnage. The 9660 TEU 48Y-Butterfly will replace Emma Maersk on the AE10 Asia-Europe service until it is ready to re-enter service.
Emma Maersk
The Emma Maersk is an advanced container ship and amongst the very largest in its class. It was launched at the end of 2006 and sails on a regular route between the Far East and Europe through the Suez Canal. It sails approximately 170,000 nautical miles a year, corresponding to 7.5 times around the world.
Picture: Emma Maersk (Courtesy of Maersk Line)
