An explosion that sparked a major fire aboard the Hong Kong-flagged container ship ‘ASL Bauhinia’ has led to the crew abandoning ship, which was travelling through the Red Sea this week.
Initial thoughts were that the vessel had been the subject of an Houthi Rebel missile attack, due to its position being 140 miles off the coast of Hodeida, Yemen, a port city under the control of the terrorist group, Yet, at the time of writing, it is is currently believed to have been caused by dangerous goods.
Since this time last year, Houthi attacks on shipping had led ocean freight carriers to route their vessels away from the Red Sea area and around Africa, but earlier this month, the Houthis said they are limiting attacks to just Israel-linked ships while the Gaza ceasefire remains in place.
According to reports in the The Loadstar, the vessel was being partially operated by Israeli shipping line ZIM up until last September, so the plot thickens.
However, maritime authorities seem to be confirming that the fire resulted from unspecified dangerous goods on board, which does seem plausible after a spate of container ship fires during the past couple of years.
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