Another fire! Two fires broke out at Durban Port in three days

Fire is one of the major hidden dangers affecting logistics and transportation. Not long ago, a giant cruise ship carrying nearly 4,000 luxury cars caused huge economic losses due to a fire accident. Recently, a fire accident occurred at a port terminal again.

According to foreign media reports, on March 5, containers stacked at Durban Port Terminal 2 caught fire. Service personnel rushed to the scene and quickly put out the fire. However, two days after the incident, on March 7, another container from the same batch caught fire again and was put out by emergency personnel. Transnet is currently investigating the cause of the fire at the Durban Port container terminal.

The country's port and logistics company said the two container fires involved the same containers and the fires have been brought under control.

Two consecutive fire accidents have caused people to doubt the cargo in the containers. It is not clear whether the cargo in the containers that caught fire is dangerous goods.

But Transnet said the affected cargoes would be declared under the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code and that the shipping agents responsible for the cargoes would be contacted to determine exactly what they were.

Transnet said it was in contact with the Customs Department of the South African Revenue Service and other relevant departments on the matter. " Every shipment entering the port must be declared under the IMDG code and a call has been made to the responsible shipping agent to determine the contents of the container," the statement said .

In addition, "the affected containers have now been moved to a separate stacking area and cargo owners will be asked to evacuate their cargo as soon as possible . "

The fire is the latest in a series of incidents that have halted operations since 2021 , with Transnet suffering multiple cyberattacks last year that damaged its infrastructure and a power outage at its Richards Bay facility .

In October, Transnet was forced to declare force majeure after a fire broke out at its Richards Bay dry bulk terminal. Dangerous goods in logistics transportation pose a great safety hazard. Once an accident occurs, the destructive power is unimaginable. Therefore, relevant sellers and freight forwarders are reminded to strictly abide by relevant regulations and prohibit the carrying of dangerous goods to avoid losses.

Two fires hit Durban Port in three days