OCEAN Network Express, ONE, has informed its customers that the discharge of damaged cargo from the Hapag-Lloyd-owned containership Yantian Express is expected to take five weeks.

ONE is a member of THE Alliance together with Hapag-Lloyd and Yang Ming. The 7,500 TEU Yantian Express caught fire off the Canadian coast on January 3. Earlier reports said that 198 containers on board were 'most likely' to be a total loss to fire damage and a further 460 that were stacked in the vicinity of the fire would require inspection.



Of the expected total-loss containers, ONE had the highest number, 99, followed by Hapag-Lloyd with 68 and Yang Ming with 31.



In February, ONE said the discharge of distressed containers could take up to two months once operations began.



According to the latest customer advisory, ONE said operations to unload the cargo damaged were ongoing at a facility in Freeport, Bahamas. Undamaged cargo, however, cannot be discharged at the vessel's current location, which is a temporary yard meant to handle only the distressed cargo, ONE said.



Although there is a containerised terminal berth 'in the vicinity', according to the advisory, the terminal may not have sufficient capacity for sound cargo.



'Alternative options are currently being investigated,' ONE said.



The Yantian Express was originally scheduled to arrive at the Port of New York and New Jersey on January 6.


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