After several consecutive days of firefighting efforts concluded and the ship’s open flames were confirmed to be under control, the “ONE Henry Hudson” was moved back from an anchorage one nautical mile offshore to a berth at the Port of Los Angeles on the evening of November 26, local time. Next, the terminal will begin offloading containers affected by the fire, as well as some cargo boxes that had not yet been processed when unloading was originally scheduled to begin on November 21.
This berth shift was coordinated and advanced by the Unified Command, comprised of the U.S. Coast Guard and the Port of Los Angeles. The operation was complex and required a high degree of coordination. The Port of Los Angeles stated that due to the ship movement operation, the Vincent Thomas Bridge, connecting San Pedro and Terminal Island, was temporarily closed during this period. Simultaneously, firefighting forces accompanied the vessel throughout the entire process, escorting it from the anchorage to the berth and remaining on standby after arrival.
Close to midnight that evening, the “ONE Henry Hudson” was successfully secured at the Yusen Terminal in the Port of Los Angeles. The subsequent work will transition to a joint phase involving the salvage team and dockworkers, who will conduct a box-by-box inspection of all cargo. The cargo will be categorized and handled according to three classifications: “fire damage,” “water damage,” and “undamaged.”
Previously, all hazardous materials on board and firefighting wastewater had been properly contained. Because a large amount of firefighting water remained in cargo hold No. 3, the relevant team reconfirmed the vessel’s stability before the move. The subsequent plan involves pumping this accumulated water out and sending it ashore for treatment, while air quality monitoring will continue both in the port area and on the ship.
Before initiating the move, dockworkers had completed re-securing all cargo on the vessel on Wednesday. At the time of the incident, the ship was unloading within the port, subsequently evacuated due to the fire, and was towed to the anchorage in the early morning of November 22.
The salvage operation is being handled by the Donjon-SMIT team, but the official number of containers specifically within the damaged area has not yet been released. The vessel has a maximum capacity of 9,100 TEU, but images from the time of the incident showed its actual container load was significantly below full capacity.
The crew initially reported the incident as an electrical fault. An investigation into the cause of the fire will also be conducted subsequently.
