Espirito Santo Express Catches Fire in South Atlantic

Fire broke out on the Espirito Santo Express on October 16, 2026. The ship was in the South Atlantic at the time, roughly 975 nautical miles northwest of Tristan da Cunha. All 25 crew members were evacuated safely. The ship was left adrift and burning.

At 330 metres and around 11,923 TEU capacity, the Espirito Santo Express is Singapore-flagged, owned by Seaspan and chartered by Hapag-Lloyd on the AS2 service between Singapore and Santos, Brazil. An explosion preceded the fire. The Brazilian Air Force sent a KC-390 aircraft from Rio in response. NAVAREA V issued a warning, and salvage teams were being mobilised as of October 17.

Two container ships caught fire within two weeks of each other. A fire on an HMM container ship in the Indian Ocean earlier this month forced the ship to seek refuge in South Africa. The Espirito Santo Express was fully abandoned, which is the more serious outcome.

The ship's position, around 28 degrees 36 minutes South and 25 degrees 52 minutes West, lies well clear of the main Cape of Good Hope shipping lane. Collision risk to other traffic is low. No cargo manifest has been released.