Maersk and the Indian Coast Guard are confirming that a firefight is underway aboard one of the company’s chartered vessels sailing off the coast of India. Few details are available, but it appears to be a container fire that started at the forward section of the vessel and so far, was contained to that portion of the ship.
The Indian Coast Guard reports that it received reports of the fire at midday on July 19 and sent one of its aircraft. Three Coast Guard vessels, Sachet, Sujeet, and Samrat, were all dispatched. The video shows one of the vessels alongside spraying water on a roaring fire.
@IndiaCoastGuard MRCC #Mumbai received distress call on 19 Jul 24 from container carrier MV Maersk Frankfurt 50 NM off #Karwar regarding major #fire onboard. #ICG #Dornier & Ships Sachet, Sujeet and Samrat pressed into action. #ALH and additional aircraft being mobilized to… pic.twitter.com/b6JKlY2f75
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) July 19, 2024
The vessel, the Maersk Frankfurt (76,500 dwt) is a brand-new ship delivered in May to its Japanese owners from the Imabari Shipbuilding. It is being managed by Bernard Schulte and operating under time charter to Maersk. The ship is 836 feet (255 meters) in length with a capacity of 5,920 TEU.
Media reports from India indicate that they are encountering difficult weather conditions including heavy rain in the area. The ship is being reported to be in a position about 100 nautical miles from Goa and 50 nautical miles from Karwar, a city on the west coast of India and the Arabian Sea.
Firefighting effort on July 19 (Indian Coast Guard)
Maersk is reporting that the vessel is currently in “stable condition,” with the firefight ongoing. The ship is registered to be transporting dangerous goods, but it is unclear specifically what items are aboard or if they are in the area of the fire. Imabari reported when the vessel was delivered two months ago that it was designed to allow a large number of refrigerated containers to be loaded in the holds and on deck.
The vessel had departed the northern Indian port of Mundra and was bound for Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was scheduled to then proceed to Malaysia, Singapore, and on to China. The last AIS signal shows it had slowed to 5 knots with its status listed as “not under command.”
