Monday, May 08, 2017

Dubai

Ten people received minor injuries and a quay crane collapsed to the ground on May 4 when a container ship slammed into a harbour seawall at Terminal 1 of Jebel Ali port and hit the crane, DP World said on Monday.

No one was killed in the collision.

“DP World confirms that an incident occurred on Thursday, 4 May at Jebel Ali Port, Terminal 1. While berthing, a CMA CGM container vessel collided with the harbour wall striking the leg of a quay crane causing it to fall. A second crane was also shifted off its rails during the incident but remained upright and stable,” said DP World.

The ports company did not say precisely which ship was involved.

Officials who operate the CMA CGM shipping company could not be reached by Gulf News in telephone calls to the company’s Marseille, France, headquarters on Monday.

But according to the CMA CGM Group’s website, it describes itself as a “worldwide shipping group. It is French international and multi-cultural company counting 29,000 employees in over 160 countries.”

The CMA CGM company operates 449 vessels and said on its website that “these leviathans are powerful vessels, boasting the latest technology for ensuring safety and protecting the environment. They enable the CMA CGM Group to offer its customers regular, dependable, and ever more competitive services. The CMA CGM fleet is also made up of vessels of all sizes, with container ships whose capacities range from 133 to 18,000 TEUs.”

The fleet includes 26 giant container ships, the firm said.

DP World, meanwhile, confirmed that injuries to people at the scene were all minor, save one person who suffered fractures.

“The incident resulted in one moderate and nine minor injuries, but thankfully no fatalities. Medical treatment for all minor injuries was received at the DP World Medical Clinic at the terminal, while the gentleman with the moderate injury, a fractured arm and leg, was taken to hospital and is currently in a stable condition,” it said.

The authorities have launched an investigation to learn why the ship collided with the sea wall and crane.

“An investigation is currently underway to establish the cause of the incident. The collapsed quay crane will be removed following all necessary safety procedures once the investigation has been completed. The second crane is under assessment for structural integrity and not in use until further notice,” the statement added.

“Our first priority is the safety and wellbeing of our employees and all visitors to the port. DP World’s terminal safety teams responded immediately to the incident and head office global safety teams joined them on site within five minutes. Working with external emergency response teams, the area was evacuated and an exclusion zone created. Safety drones were also deployed to survey the area, locate anyone in need of medical assistance and to ensure the safety of the responding crews,” it said.

The company is taking measures to minimise delays in service to customers as investigators look into the incident on site.

Staff Report

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