HMM Platinum still at sea after container fire off Madagascar, SMIT on Lloyd's Open Form
About 2,300 containers are on board the 2013-built ship; general average is likely and Durban has been dropped as port of refuge
The containership HMM Platinum was still at sea southwest of Madagascar on 10 October after a fire broke out in a container on a voyage from Kattupalli in India to Santos in Brazil. The salvage company SMIT has been engaged under Lloyd's Open Form, and general average is likely to be declared, according to the casualty notices issued to cargo interests.
The fire started inside a container while the ship was off Lavanono, on the southern coast of Madagascar. The notices give no exact time or cause and no information on injuries among the crew. The 2013-built ship flies the Liberian flag and is owned by H Platinum SA and managed by HMM Ocean Service Company. HMM's own fleet list gives her a capacity of 5,023 TEU, a deadweight of 63,014 tonnes and a gross tonnage of 52,467. She was carrying about 2,300 containers, some of them temperature-sensitive cargo.
Where is the ship heading?
Durban was named first as port of refuge, with an arrival expected on 8 October. The next update said the ship was looking for another port, possibly Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, and did not confirm a replacement. AIS data on 10 October placed her southwest of Madagascar at 2.7 knots with the status "not under command", Durban still entered as her destination.
Before the Brazil leg, HMM Platinum called at Qingdao on 29 and 30 August, Busan New Port on 2 and 3 September, Ningbo on 10 September, Shenzhen on 14 and 15 September and Singapore on 22 September. She left Kattupalli on 27 September. Cargo loaded at any of those ports and still on board is affected by the delay.
What does it mean for cargo owners?
W.E. Cox Claims Group said in its 8 October casualty update that damage is likely to be significant and that cargo interests will need to provide salvage security before their goods are released, and probably general average security as well. W K Webster said salvage security must come from a party acceptable to the salvors or the Council of Lloyd's. Under Lloyd's Open Form, salvors can hold a maritime lien over salved property until that security is in place.
Salvage security and general average security cover different claims, and both can apply to cargo that was not touched by the fire. W K Webster warned that containers near the one that burned may have suffered heat, smoke or water damage from firefighting, and said it had surveyors on standby. No general average declaration had been made by 10 October.
This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 12 October 2026.
