Casualty News

ASL BAUHINIA

Date
January 27, 2025

Type
Fire

Voyage
UAE to Saudi Arabia

Update 08 April 2025

The containership ASL BAUHINIA is still being attended to by professional salvors, Smit Salvage, under an LOF contract.

The vessel is now off Jeddah. It is hoped that the salvage operation can be concluded in the not too distant future.

Before cargoes can be delivered, cargo insurers will be asked to provide salvage security.

We are assisting insurers of part of the cargo on board ASL BAUHINIA (much of which is damaged). If you also require assistance please do let us know.

Update 19 February 2025

As predicted, the vessel has declared General Average. Security guarantees will be required from cargo interests in order for cargoes to be released.

Dolphin is already assisting insurers for part cargo and would be pleased to assist others in all aspects of claims arising from this incident.

Update 31 January 2025

Following the explosion and fire on board ASL BAUHINIA earlier this week, the vessel was abandoned by its crew. No injuries were reported.

The vessel is still drifting and on fire. Because of the location of the incident, there was speculation that the fire may have been caused by a Houthi attack, although there is no evidence for this at this time and the incident has now been officially determined by Combined Maritime Forces’s (CMF) Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) to be unrelated to Houthi militant activity.

It seems clear that the fire originated in or adjacent to a cargo space. If a hazardous cargo is to blame, then this follows several similar incidents over recent months where we also act for cargo insurers. 

ASL BAUHINIA is on a voyage from Jebel Ali to Jeddah but is carrying cargoes from other countries as well, including China and other countries in the Far East and Asia generally.

We are already assisting insurers of part of the cargo on board this vessel, and we expect claims for Salvage and General Average to be made shorty. Part of the cargo will also be damaged of course.

If you have also insured cargo on board ASL BAUHINIA and require assistance please do let us know.

Initial Report 27 January 2025

Reports have been received that Hong Kong flag vessel ASL BAUHINIA (18,526gt built 2022) suffered a fire on board in the Red Sea yesterday.

The containership is now reported to be drifting in a southerly direction approximately 120 miles northwest of Hodeidah, Yemen.

ASL BAUHINIA’s last port of call was Jebel Ali from where the vessel sailed on 22 January 2025, towards Egypt.

If you are the insurers of cargo on board this vessel and require assistance the any claims arising, then please do not hesitate to contact us. We can assist with:

• Arranging cargo damage surveys

• Investigating the cause of the incident

• Recovery of losses on NO CURE NO PAY terms

• Provision of Salvage Guarantees (for a premium starting from 0.4% of guarantee amount)

• Handling of Salvage claims (without the need for lawyers)

• Providing Average Guarantees

• Handling of GA claims

• Defence of GA claims in NO CURE NO PAY terms