Frankfurt Containerdienst is a major European logistics hub. Cargo shipments to and from the city have been on the rise for years, but freight volumes in November even exceeded those of the previous year. Fraport, the operator of Germany’s biggest air cargo hub, said this was due to strong demand on routes to Asia and Latin America.

The container fire aboard the Maersk Frankfurt, a newly built boxship chartered by Maersk, continues to burn, 10 days after an explosion caused the blaze. Specialists have arrived to aid with efforts that continue off the west coast of India. The 5,920 TEU vessel was en route from Mundra to Sri Lanka when the fire started on July 19. One crew member died and the rest are safe on board.

Frankfurt Container Service: Fast, Easy, and Affordable

A team of professional salvors has been onboard the Maersk Frankfurt to survey the damage and develop a plan for its continued firefighting efforts. Despite efforts to douse the container ship’s starboard side, small blazes persist in several containers and occasionally reignite. The crew are hosing down the fourth row of containers, a move that may help extinguish the fire.

The Frankfurt East station yard was expanded from about 2003 to house a container terminal. Its location in Hanauer Landstrasse, formerly a tram stop for line 11, was chosen to make the yard accessible to trucks and reduce congestion on the main road network. The East station is served by complete freight trains that leave from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof for the cities of Berlin and Bremerhaven, as well as Frankfurt/Main airport.