Badly burnt MSC Flaminia under tow, likely to dock at German port

THE stricken 6,732-TEU MSC Flaminia, which was badly burnt after a mid-Atlantic explosion on July 14 and then beset with difficulties in finding a place to dock, is now likely to be allowed to enter Germany, where the ship is registered.

The ship, owned by Reederei NSB and chartered by the world's second largest container carrier Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), was being pulled to British waters for an onboard inspection before being towed to an unnamed German port, reports London's Containerisation International.

Reederei NSB said the vessel had been already assigned to the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies in Cuxhaven for further coordination.

The ship was on its way from Charleston to Antwerp with 2,876 containers at the time of the explosion, and it is estimated that about 1,000 containers may be destroyed.

A general average was declared on August 8, and Hamburg-based Schlimme & Partner has been appointed as average adjusters in association with Rogers Wilkin Ahern in London.

According to Wikipedia, "a general average is a legal principle of maritime law according to which all parties in a sea venture proportionally share any losses resulting from a voluntary sacrifice of part of the ship or cargo to save the whole in an emergency."