Containers with dangerous goods inflamed on board of boxship Wan Hai 307 off Hong Kong. The fire started in the fore part of the main deck of the carrier and crew was unable to get control over the flames. The accident was reported to local authorities and container ship anchored west off Lamma island, where were dispatched firefighting tugs with special equipment. All the crew was evacuated and firefighters boarded the vessel. It was reported that some containers within the fire or near the fire are carrying hazardous and dangerous cargo. The major fire caught the whole fore section of the container carrier, while salvage tugs were pouring water over them.

After several hours the fire was extinguished, but some of container were still smoking. The authorities allowed container carrier to berth at quay between Cheung Chau and Lamma islands. The firefighters are monitoring the ship and the smoulder containers will be offloaded. According to local authorities and cargo plans some of the affected containers were loaded with toxic materials. The investigation for the root cause of the fire is under way.

The container ship Wan Hai 307 (IMO: 9237096) has overall length of 197.00 m, moulded beam of 30.00 m and maximum draft of 10.50 m. The deadweight of the vessel is 34,025 DWT, the gross tonnage is 25,836 GRT and maximum capacity is 2,200 TEU. The boxship was built in 2002 by CSBC Keelung in their shipyard in Taiwan. The owner and operator of the container carrier Wan Hai 307 is Wan Hai Lines. During the accident the vessel was en route from Kaohsiung, Taiwan to Hong Kong.