COSCO’s mega container ship suffers propulsion loss off Portugal

As per reports from Portuguese Maritime Authorities, a COSCO’s 20,000 TEU container ship sustained propulsion loss due to some reason that was withheld from the general public.

The vessel was en route from the Port of Piraeus in Greece to Rotterdam.

According to data from various vessel tracking platforms, the Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) COSCO Shipping Virgo had been adrift for over three hours (13:30 UTC to 17:00 UTC) after the incident on 24 December. The ship is docked at Rotterdam, as of 29 December

As these mammoth ships are propelled by some of the biggest and most powerful engines on the planet, engine failure or propulsion loss should not be taken in a light note, lest it may lead to a bigger accident in the near future.

Engine failures have been a known cause for some of the deadliest accidents the industry has ever witnessed, and is mostly caused by machinery damage, problems in the fuel supply system, air starting valve leakage, or failure in the electrical system (arising from the auxiliary engines) onboard and should be cross checked for future references.