Shipping can be hazardous to your health. In WWII, the "service" with the highest casualty rate was the Merchant Marine. Obviously for reasons other than weather, but....

For another amazing disaster at sea, do a google image search on "Hanjin Pennsylvania". Spectacular explosion/fire in the Indian ocean... burned practically to the waterline but somehow kept afloat and was towed back to Singapore. There WERE some deaths associated with this one.

I don't think they ever identified what went off; chemicals or undeclared fireworks. Per regulations, fireworks and other explosive items must be loaded above deck, so if the worst happens, the ship's structural integrity can survive. This was something that ignited in a hold just ahead of the superstructure.

The Hanjin Pennsylvania and the APL China are both post-Panamaxes, about 900 feet long or so. They are rated by the number of 20' long containers they can carry, in this case about 5,000 (although most containers are 40', so in reality about 2,500 40' containers). There are vessels today that can carry almost 3 times this number; but the ports they can call are somewhat constrained due to the need for special cranes, docks, etc.

Looks like somebody either fibbed (to get a cheaper rate) or somebody mis-stowed a container.

There are some spectacular photos of the exposion and aftermath out there on the web.

Back to the topic at hand; I'm either going to need a clue or I'm going to start surfing (later today).