Salvage Operation Underway as Maersk Sana Drifts After Engine Room Fire
The 21-year-old Maersk Sana, an 8,450 TEU container ship, is currently adrift in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 254 nautical miles east of Bermuda following an engine room fire on April 28. The vessel was en route from Port Newark to Singapore when the incident occurred, causing severe damage to the main engine and injuring three crew members.
A salvage tug has been dispatched from Mexico to tow the vessel to an undisclosed port. The tug is expected to arrive around May 6, and efforts are underway to recover the ship and assess the extent of the damage.
Three crew members were injured in the fire; two with severe injuries were evacuated to the Maersk Nomazwe, which transferred them to Bermuda for medical treatment. One was discharged, while the other remains in critical but stable condition. The third crew member sustained burns but is also in stable condition.
The Maersk Sana, part of the Gemini Cooperation alliance with Hapag-Lloyd, operates on a route between Asia and North America via the Panama Canal and the Cape of Good Hope. The vessel’s main engine remains disabled, and investigations into the fire’s root cause are ongoing. Maersk has stated that its priority is crew safety and minimizing disruptions to customer logistics.
As of now, no official details have been released regarding the cargo status or whether a general average declaration will be made.
