Container explodes on cargo ship at China’s key Ningbo port

BEIJING — A hazardous goods container exploded Friday on a cargo ship in China’s high-traffic Ningbo port, Taiwanese vessel owner Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp. told CNBC in a statement.

No casualties or injuries were announced to date. The incident took place on the YM Mobility ship and led to a fire, which has been brought under control, the owner said. All people on board were safely evacuated.

The Liberia-flagged ship had arrived in Ningbo after last calling at Shanghai, according to MarineTraffic tracking data. State-owned port operator Ningbo-Zhoushan said the ship was docked at the Beilun 2 container terminal, according to a post on Chinese social media.

The port operator and Yang Ming both said the cause of the incident was not yet clear.

Yang Ming added that the owner of the goods had declared it under dry, cold storage, without need for plugged-in electricity, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese-language statement.

The incident did not immediately appear to significantly disrupt major shipping lines.

Ningbo-Zhoushan is China’s second-highest traffic port, located in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. Shanghai is the busiest port in the world, followed by Singapore and then Ningbo-Zhoushan, according to Lloyd’s List.

— CNBC’s Ruxandra Iordache contributed to this report.