Pollution
Humain
Environnement
Economique

Fire, followed by explosion, occurred on a container ship, the MSC-Flaminia, running between Charleston (U.S.) and Antwerp (Belgium) via Le Havre (France) off the coast of Brittany and the U.K. The vessel, flying under the German flag, measured 300 m and held a cargo capacity of 6,750 containers, but at the time of the explosion only 2,876 containers on board. The entire crew abandoned ship. A second explosion happened on 18 July. The fire was brought under control on 23 July, at which point towing operations began. The boat was docked on 9 September at the German port of Wilhelmshaven, near Hamburg, whose facilities were able to accommodate the wrecked ship.

The human toll was very heavy: 2 deaths, 3 injuries one of which critical. One sailor was reported missing. As regards the environmental impact, the list of substances transported featured: polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), pyralene (intended for a hazardous waste treatment plant in south-eastern France), dioxane (ether), isopropylamine (solvent), the potentially explosive nitromethane, and 680 tonnes of diesel fuel.

The French Ministry of Ecology requested the Accident Research Centre CEDRE to study the risks of dispersion in marine waters should the boat have sunk, as well as surface contamination from the hazardous substances carried. Other assessments were conducted: one by the Dutch rescue company selected by the German ship owner; another by an official body assigned to appraise the fleet’s condition; and a third, on 28 August, by an international team of experts taking samples in ship hulls damaged by explosions and fires.

According to the press, a majority of the 2,876 containers being transported was either destroyed or sustained damage. Their cargo must have fallen to the bottom of the hull, where it was drenched and dissolved by fire hose water. The group overseeing waste treatment indicated that the PCB waste containers, which accounted for the equivalent of 45 tonnes of liquid waste, had not been affected. Considered as contaminated waste, some 30,000 tonnes of polluted extinguishing water were transferred aboard a tanker vessel and shipped to Denmark for treatment.

In the case of a container ship on fire, risks stem not just from the various substances stored and the hydrocarbons present aboard, but also from the contaminated extinguishing water retained. The German authorities’ handling of the event demonstrated the efficient involvement of independent scientists (marine and human toxicologists, chemists, etc.) along with the use of marine toxicity tests during an emergency.