MOL Comfort

2013

Arabian Sea, broke in half, design flaw Location: Arabian Sea, ~400 nmi E of Socotra · Coordinates: 14.80°N 65.45°E · Casualties: 0 · Survivors: 26 · Depth: 4,000 m · Cause: structural failure — Broke in half in the Arabian Sea on 17 June 2013 while carrying 4,293 containers from Singapore to Jeddah. A one-metre crack opened amidships; the hull folded in under twenty minutes. Both halves drifted separately for weeks before sinking. · Fate: both halves abyssal · Type: post-Panamax container ship · Tonnage: 86,692 GRT · Crew: 26 · Flag: Bahamas (Mitsui O.S.K.) · Launched: 2008 Bahamas-flagged post-Panamax container ship operated by Mitsui O.S.K., Singapore to Jeddah with 4,293 containers. Broke in half in the Arabian Sea on the morning of 17 June 2013 during routine passage in moderate weather. No crew injured; both halves drifted independently for weeks before sinking. Subsequent review identified inadequate longitudinal bending strength across a class of post-Panamax container ships; the design's bottom plating was reinforced across the fleet. The Vessel The MV MOL Comfort was a Bahamas-flagged container ship of the Japanese Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) shipping company, built at the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries yard at Nagasaki, Japan in 2008 and commissioned on 12 June 2008. She was 316 metres long, 86,692 deadweight tons, and powered by a MAN-B&W diesel engine producing approximately 69,000 horsepower. Her specific design was a post-Panamax container ship with capacity of approximately 8,110 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent container units). Her specific operational role in 2013 was the Asia-Europe container trade. She was deployed on the MOL container rotation between Asian ports (predominantly Singapore and Chinese ports) and European ports (predominantly Rotterdam and Hamburg). Her master on her final voyage was Captain Alim Ul Haque, 48, a Bangladeshi merchant marine officer. Her complement on 17 June 2013 was 26 crew, predominantly Bangladeshi, Filipino, and Russian merchant marine personnel. The Disaster The specific structural failure was extraordinary. Container ships of MOL Comfort's class are typically designed with substantial structural safety margins; the specific failure of a 5-year-old post-Panamax container ship in monsoon weather conditions was substantially unprecedented. The specific failure mechanism was subsequently identified as a combination of: (i) the specific design characteristics of the ship's mid-ship section; (ii) the specific longitudinal stress from the specific cargo configuration; (iii) the specific wave loading from the monsoon conditions; and (iv) potentially specific construction or material quality issues. The two hull sections separated immediately. Both sections remained afloat initially, but both began to settle progressively. The specific cargo containers began spilling into the ocean as the separated hull sections listed and capsized. Captain Haque's emergency procedures were professional and effective. The specific distress signals were transmitted immediately; the crew mustered at lifeboat stations; the specific evacuation was conducted systematically. All 26 crew aboard were evacuated to the ship's lifeboats and were subsequently rescued by the Indian-registered tanker Yamuna within approximately 8 hours. The two hull sections drifted separately through the subsequent days. The specific forward section sank at approximately 14:00 on 27 June 2013, approximately 10 days after the initial structural failure. The specific aft section was ig