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Cao Jiaxuan

William Zheng

Twenty-five people were killed after a fire broke out on Thursday morning aboard a foreign-flagged cargo ship at China’s eastern port of Qingdao.
The vessel with 42 people on board was undergoing repairs at the state-owned Qingdao Beihai shipyard, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The blaze, which started at around 11.15am, was put out by 2.30pm, the report said. Twelve people were evacuated safely while five others had to be hospitalised.
President Xi Jinping earlier gave orders to step up search and rescue efforts, according to CCTV, a rare instance of instructions from the top leadership accompanying an accident report. He also called for a swift investigation into the cause of the fire and to ensure prompt follow-up and victim support, the report said.


All regions and relevant departments must “draw profound lessons from the blaze”, tighten preventive measures and “resolutely curb major accidents to safeguard lives and property”, Xi was quoted as saying.
A photo released by state news agency Xinhua suggests the ship is the Liberia-flagged bulk carrier Ocean Melody. According to the MarineTraffic website, the vessel is moored in Qingdao.
Premier Li Qiang had ordered emergency teams to “focus on rescuing trapped personnel and treating the injured”, while “preventing secondary disasters”, the CCTV report said.
According to Xinhua, he has also directed the country’s top work safety authority to thoroughly identify workplace risks and take concrete steps to prevent major accidents.

CCTV said the Ministry of Emergency Management had sent a working group to the scene to guide rescue and investigation efforts, while provincial authorities in Shandong had mobilised resources to manage on-site operations.
Qingdao Beihai is a major shipyard managed by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. It specialises in commercial shipbuilding, ship repair and offshore engineering. The facilities are spread across 330 hectares (815 acres) along 9km (5.6 miles) of coastline.
Calls to the shipyard went unanswered.
Data from vessel tracking platform Ship Value Visualisation shows that the Ocean Melody arrived for repairs in Qingdao on August 31, after sailing north from Taicang port in neighbouring Jiangsu province. It was scheduled to depart on Sunday.
The bulk carrier’s registered owner is a Chinese company Huili Shipping, managed by Yuyangkunpeng Shanghai Ship Management, according to maritime data platform Rynda.
This is China’s second fatal shipyard accident within a month. On August 13, an explosion following a blaze on a vessel at the Century Huahai (Fujian) shipyard in Fujian province left one firefighter dead.
Following Thursday’s blaze, multiple provincial authorities reposted an emergency management ministry cautionary note urging heightened safety precautions during ship repair and maintenance work.
Additional reporting by Carol Yang


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The vessel was docked for repairs, CCTV report says, as President Xi Jinping orders preventive measures tightened


The vessel was docked for repairs, CCTV report says, as President Xi Jinping orders preventive measures tightened.


25 dead after fire on board foreign-flagged cargo ship in China’s Qingdao

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The vessel was docked for repairs, CCTV report says, as President Xi Jinping orders preventive measures tightened

The vessel was docked for repairs, CCTV report says, as President Xi Jinping orders preventive measures tightened