The Indian Coast Guard said on Saturday that its three ships were battling a major fire aboard a cargo vessel in the Arabian Sea after responding to a distress call a day earlier.
The vessel MV Maersk Frankfurt reported explosions on its front deck on Friday, 12 kilometres south of Karwar while sailing from India’s Gujarat state to Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Further updates on #MaerskFrankfurt fire:@IndiaCoastGuard Ships Sujeet, Sachet and Samrat have been fighting the fire for over 12 hours, preventing its spread. As of 0700 hrs, 20 Jul, the vessel is 6.5 NM south of #Karwar, #ICG Dornier aircraft Ex #Goa is conducting aerial… pic.twitter.com/nevStJvjpa— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) July 20, 2024
No casualties
“Ships Sujeet, Sachet and Samrat have been fighting the fire for over 12 hours, preventing its spread,” the India Coast Guard said in a statement Saturday posted on social media platform X. It posted images and videos showing the firefighting effort. No casualties were reported from the merchant vessel.
The Indian coast guard said a Donier aircraft was conducting aerial assessments and that an additional plane was also in position for search and rescue. The coast guard said another ship was also despatched from Mumbai and likely to join the effort by Sunday.
The ICG said it is facilitating the delivery of dry chemical powder (DCP) bags and balls to support firefighting efforts. The pollution control vessel Samudra Prahari is scheduled to arrive today to offer additional assistance. Currently, there are no plans to evacuate the crew. The vessel’s Master has stated that anchoring is impractical due to the inaccessible forecastle area compromised by melting containers.
On Saturday morning, the ICG said on its X handle, “Ships Sujeet, Sachet and Samrat have been fighting the fire for over 12 hours, preventing its spread. As of 0700 hrs, 20 Jul, the vessel is 6.5 NM south of Karwar.” ICG’s Dornier aircraft is conducting aerial assessment, with an additional aircraft from Kochi positioned for the search and rescue operation, it said.
“ETV Water Lily departed #Mumbai on 19 Jul, arriving on scene by 21 Jul,” it added. The merchant vessel, on its way from Mundra to Colombo, was reportedly carrying “International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) cargo” and explosions have been occurring on its front part, the ICG had said on Friday. On Wednesday the Indian navy rescued nine crew members and recovered one body from the Comorian-flagged MV Prestige Falcon oil tanker that had capsized off the coast of Oman earlier this week.
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