Container Ship Erupts in Flames Off Mumbai [Video]

A major ship fire erupted on the MV Amsterdam Bridge over the weekend off the coast of Mumbai. The blaze has fortunately been contained and cooling operations are ongoing aboard the Colombo-bound merchant vessel. The entire 20-man crew is safe.

Indian Coast Guard officials confirm that the flames are contained, but not yet fully extinguished. Thick smoke continues to rise from the vessel and fire-fighting is underway.

The vessel was carrying hazardous cargo when it caught fire near the Prongs Reef Lighthouse in South Mumbai. 24 containers out of the 112 onboard the vessel contained 45 tonnes of dangerous material including petrol, turpentine and more.

No oil spill has been reported yet, even though the ship’s fuel tank contained 2,600 tonnes of heavy fuel.

The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the fire, but the actual base of the fire has been localized in hold number three of the vessel, reports the Hindustan Times. The full damage of the incident cannot be evaluated until the fire is completely extinguished.

Apart from four Indian Coast Guard ships - ICGS Samudra Prahari, ICGS Subhadra Kumari Chouhan, ICGS Sankalp, and ICGS Sangram - two Indian naval vessels, two Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) fire-fighting tugs and five ONGC tugs are assisting the Coast Guard in containing the fire.

The Antigua and Barbuda-flagged container ship was built in 2009 and is classed by Germanischer Lloyd. It was scheduled to reach the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo tomorrow.