CMA CGM Florida

The incident

During the night of the 17th to 18th March, the container ship CMA CGM Florida, en route from Shanghai Yangshan Port in China to Busan in South Korea, collided with the bulk carrier Chou Shan in the mouth of the Yangtze River 140 nautical miles north-east of Shanghai.

The circumstances surrounding the collision are not known. None of the crew was harmed but the container ship was damaged on the port side of its hull. The ship sustained several breaches, in particular in its bunker tank.

The engine of the CMA CGM Florida still had power and the vessel was rapidly directed towards Yangshan Port in Shanghai where it remained in anchor for inspection and repairs. No makeshift repairs were undertaken before the transfer and the container ship left a trail of fuel oil in its wake.

Five response vessels were deployed to take action on the oil slick which covered an area two nautical miles wide by two hundred nautical miles long.