Video: Explosion Rocks Cargo Ship at China’s Bustling Ningbo Port

An explosion occurred on Friday within a hazardous goods container aboard a cargo ship at Ningbo port, one of China’s busiest maritime hubs. The vessel’s owner, Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., based in Taiwan, confirmed the incident in a statement to CNBC, citing preliminary investigations.

Fortunately, no casualties or injuries have been reported so far. The explosion, which took place on the Liberia-flagged ship YM Mobility, triggered a fire that has since been contained. All crew members were safely evacuated from the vessel.

According to MarineTraffic data, the ship had previously made a port call in Shanghai before arriving at Ningbo. The vessel was docked at the Beilun 2 container terminal when the incident occurred, as confirmed by state-owned Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group via Chinese social media.

Both the port operator and Yang Ming Marine Transport have stated that the cause of the explosion remains under investigation. The cargo in question was reportedly declared for dry, cold storage with no requirement for electrical connection, according to a CNBC translation of Yang Ming’s Chinese-language statement.

At this stage, the incident does not appear to have caused significant disruption to major shipping lines. Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, located in Zhejiang province, is China’s second-busiest port after Shanghai and ranks among the top three busiest ports globally, alongside Singapore, according to Lloyd’s List.