Carriers warn most cargo lost in containership fire

Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express are warning customers that most cargo aboard the Espirito Santo Express is likely severely damaged or a total loss, more than two weeks after fire broke out on the 11,800-TEU containership in the South Atlantic.

Why it matters: The warnings are the clearest indication yet of the scale of losses on a Singapore to Santos service, and shippers face a long wait: the fire is under control but the vessel has not reached a port of refuge where cargo can be assessed.

Data as of gCaptain report of November 3, 2026, read in full in this run, citing separate customer advisories from Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express based on information from vessel owner Seaspan. Single-source reporting of the advisories; the condition of individual containers remains unknown. Developing item.

Hapag-Lloyd and Ocean Network Express said in separate customer advisories that, based on information from vessel owner Seaspan, they expect the vast majority of cargo aboard the Espirito Santo Express to be either severely damaged by the fire or a total loss. The Singapore-flagged vessel, built in 2018 and chartered by Hapag-Lloyd from Seaspan, caught fire on October 15 while sailing from Singapore to Santos, Brazil, on ONE’s East Coast South America Express 1 service; all 28 crew abandoned ship and were rescued, though the rescue vessel’s chief officer fell overboard during the recovery and could not be found.

The fire is now under control, but the ship has yet to reach a port of refuge and neither carrier gave a timeline for its arrival. Hapag-Lloyd said it will contact customers whose shipments may be salvageable once the vessel reaches port and an initial damage assessment is done, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Carriers warn most cargo lost in containership fire

Sources