Cargo ship obliterated in huge explosion

This is the moment a mammoth cargo ship was nearly destroyed by an exploding shipping container in one of China’s busiest ports.

While docked at the Beilun Port area of the Port of Ningbo-Zhoushan in the eastern Zhejiang province at 1.50pm local time, the container burst into flames.

Photographs from the scene show thick black smoke rising from the front of the cargo hold of the ship, sending debris high into the air.

The shockwave from the blast was so strong the roof of a nearby company canteen collapsed.

No injuries have been reported so far, port officials said.

The ship, the Dong Ming, is owned by the Taiwanese container shipping company Yang Ming, maritime search and rescue officials said in a statement.

The crate contained a type of organic peroxides, which are a family of reactive chemicals, news outlets on Weibo reported.

The cargo was rated with a hazard class of 5.2, meaning it needs to be refrigerated or else may combust and spew harmful or flammable fumes.

Yet the cargo’s water-cooling system was not ‘plugged in’, a shipping worker told reporters, with Ningbo’s especially hot weather recently potentially a factor.

The ship was bound for the Middle East from Shanghai, they added.

Fire tugboats and crews are at the scene.

Port officials are investigating the incident.

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