NEWS SPECIAL

Naval Vessels Race To Aid Blazing Merchant Ship

Compiled by WARSHIPS IFR Special Correspondent

Containers blaze aboard the MV Hyundai Fortune. Photo: Royal Navy.

Coalition warships on counter-terrorist patrol in the Gulf of Aden responded to a distress call from a blazing container ship, the 64,000 tons Panamanian-registered Motor Vessel Hyundai Fortune.

The Dutch frigate HNLMS De Zeven Provincien (F802), the current command ship of Combined Task Force 150 (CTF 150), was first on the scene and rescued 27 people - 20 Korean, and seven Chinese crew members, three of them women.

Approximately 43 miles off the coast of Yemen, the cargo ship, which was headed north towards the Suez Canal, was in a perilous state, with flames and smoke pouring from the containers stacked on her upper decks. Sailors from the De Zeven Provincien risked their lives to fight the fires but they could not be contained, so the master of the cargo ship gave orders to evacuate the ship.

The De Zeven Provincien's Commanding Officer, Captain Maarten Stenvert said his crew performed the rescue in a "superb manner."

"They were continuously aware what was going on and of the potential dangers that the Hyundai Fortune posed to them, from such hazards as explosion and falling containers," explained Captain Stenvert.

One Hyundai Fortune crewmember sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was evacuated to the French Navy aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91), which is equipped with major medical facilities. The injured man was flown to the De Gaulle by a Lynx helicopter from the French destroyer FS Montcalm (D642) for further examination. The Charles De Gaulle and FS Montcalm were part of TF 473, led by French Rear Admiral Xavier Magne and currently supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, the coalition counter-terror campaign.

The other 26 mariners evacuated from Hyundai Fortune were flown ashore.

The British frigate Lancaster standing by as the abandoned vessel drifts, still on fire and a potential hazard to shipping. Photo: Royal Navy.

Also on the scene and working closely with the Montcalm during the drama was the British Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster (F229).

On arriving the Lancaster relieved the Dutch warship of command duties and continued to provide navigation warning to other merchant shipping in what is a very busy waterway.

A Royal Navy spokesman explained further: "HMS Lancaster has positioned herself to monitor a 10nm exclusion zone around the vessel and warn merchant shipping of the associated hazards. Some containers have broken free during the blaze and, being partially submerged, present a danger to surface navigation."

Meanwhile the De Zeven Provincien made a rendezvous with a tug outbound from Aden to put a tow across to the merchant vessel. It was also intended that the Hyundai Fortune's master and some of the crew would then return to the stricken ship.

• Report based on material provided by the US Navy (5th Fleet HQ, Bahrain) and Royal Navy Fleet HQ, UK.

• For more on the De Zeven Provincien's anti-terror patrols and her role as command ship, see the May and June 2006 editions of WARSHIPS IFR.