Major fire on merchant navy ship off Karnataka coast extinguished, says Coast Guard

A major fire that broke out on July 19 on a merchant navy ship off the Karwar coast has been doused and efforts are underway to ensure the affected vessel remains in deep sea considering the grave threat posed to the coastline, the Coast Guard said on Tuesday.

“The vessel is presently 13 nautical miles west of New Mangalore and heading towards open sea,” the ICG stated in a release.

MV Maersk Frankfurt, carrying 1,154 containers, including some with dangerous cargo like benzene and sodium cyanate, had caught fire some 102 nautical miles off the coast of Goa while on its way from Mundra in Gujarat to Colombo in Sri Lanka. One crew member died in the blaze, a Coast Guard official had said on Sunday.

The ICG said it has facilitated the embarkation of an initial team, comprising four members- one Indian and three Filipino.

“Due to sustained efforts by ICG ships as first responders, the major fire has been doused and white smoke is visible with recurrent minor fires due to the content inside containers,” the maritime security agency said.

ICGS Samudra Prahari, a specialised pollution control vessel, and ICGS Sachet, an advanced offshore patrol vessel are combating small fires on the ship.

“Considering the grave threat posed to Indian coastline, all endeavours are being made to maintain the vessel away and well clear from the coast into deeper seas,” the Coast Guard added.

The operations continued for the fifth day after the eruption of fire amidst the peak of southwest monsoon in extreme weather conditions to ensure the safety of the vessel and her crew members.

The Coast Guard further said efforts of ICGS Samudra Prahari and ICGS Sachet are augmented by Albattros 5, an OSV charted by the ship managers and Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) Water Lily, on contract with DG Shipping.

The Coast Guard also said aerial assessments are being undertaken on a need basis.

The maritime security agency informed that ship managers, Bernhard Schulte Ship Management (Hong Kong) Ltd have contracted M/s SMIT Salvers to undertake salvage operations onboard the distressed vessel.

“The salvers have requested ICG presence near the distressed vessel to combat fire reflash till the arrival of two Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) from abroad, under their contract,” the Coast Guard said, adding that the first vessel is expected to arrive by July 23 evening and the second vessel by July 28.

Stating that firefighting onboard container vessels is one of the major challenges being faced by the global maritime community, the Coast Guard said fire inside containers requires close intervention to extinguish completely.