A massive explosion rocked the Beilun No. 2 container terminal in Ningbo, China, when the Taiwanese cargo ship YM Mobility, carrying dangerous goods, detonated. The blast occurred at the Beilun Port section of Ningbo Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang Province, sparking a fire that has since been brought under control. Thankfully, no casualties have been reported.
MarineTraffic tracking data shows that the Liberian-flagged ship had arrived from Shanghai. All crew members were safely evacuated, and the incident did not disrupt major shipping routes.
Ningbo Zhoushan Port authorities confirmed that the ship was docked at the terminal. But the cause of the explosion remains unknown.
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation, the ship’s owner, stated that the dangerous goods on board required refrigeration dry storage and did not need electricity.
Video footage captured a massive fireball erupting from the container, sending thick black smoke billowing over the port.
Ningbo Zhoushan Port, China’s second-busiest and one of the world’s largest, handled about 900 million tons of cargo in 2015. While the explosion’s full impact on global shipping is still being evaluated, no significant disruptions have been reported so far.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the cause of the explosion. This incident bears some similarities to other maritime disasters, such as the devastating Beirut explosion in August 2020. Which killed 218 people and injured nearly 7,000. However, the cause of the Ningbo explosion remains under investigation. And no legal action has been taken in connection with the Beirut incident.
