Around 12h35 UTC, a huge explosion of unknown origin occurred below deck of container ship. It was built in September 1996 in South Corea and sailed under the flag of Panama. The vessel was bursted into flames on its way from ports in China and Singapore through the Gulf of Aden about 60 miles south of the coast of Yemen. It was sailing west towards the Suez Canal on the way to ports in Europe ; its cargo capacity is 5,551 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). The explosion caused a massive blaze that spread through the stern of the ship and sending 60 to 90 containers into the ocean. Secondary explosions followed as 7 containers full of fireworks also ignited above deck on the stern. A large chunk of the hull had been blown out below deck and above the waterline.

After efforts to contain the fire failed, all 27 crew members abandoned ship and were rescued by a Dutch destroyer. On March 23, firefighting tugs began to arrive on the scene; the Hyundai Fortune continued to burn for several days. The combined cost of the ship and lost cargo is now estimated at over 300 million US dollars.

Two hypothesis are to mention : a violent chemical reaction of calcium hypochlorite exposed to moisture or heat or the fire/explosion of volatile cargo such as fireworks.