At 1:40 PM local time on August 9, a significant explosion took place aboard the container ship YM Mobility, owned by the Taiwanese company Yang Ming Marine Transport, while it was moored at the Beilun Phase III terminal of the Chinese port of Ningbo-Zhoushan. Witnesses reported seeing black smoke billowing from a container loaded on the ship before the explosion. Preliminary reports suggest that the blast was caused by a refrigerated container loaded with organic peroxides, which are classified as dangerous goods under Class 5.2. According to Chinese sources, this container was mistakenly used in place of a dry container that did not require electrical power. The explosion triggered a fire, which has since been brought under control. The crew was safely evacuated, and there are no reports of casualties among port workers or first responders.
The YM Mobility, built in 2011 and flying the Liberian flag, has a capacity of 6,589 TEU and was operating on the China-Gulf Express (CGX) service of Yang Ming, ONE, and HMM, connecting the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo, Xiamen, Umm Qasr, Hamad, and Jebel Ali. The ship had arrived from Shanghai, with Xiamen as its next scheduled port of call. Chinese maritime and port authorities, along with Yang Ming, are investigating the cause of the incident. The extent of the damage to the ship and other containers on board has not yet been determined.
