COSCO Car Carrier Catches Fire off Costa Rica, 22 Seafarers Rescued
Last week, two good Samaritan ships rescued the crew of a burning car carrier in the Eastern Pacific, far from shore.
At about 1300 hours on Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard received a distress signal over Inmarsat GMDSS from the Min Jiang Kou, a Chinese car carrier located about 600 nm southeast of Costa Rica's Pacific coast. The vessel was nearing the end of a Pacific crossing from Tianjin, headed southeast towards Manta, Ecuador. The vessel's crew reported an engine room fire on board the vessel.
The Coast Guard got in touch with the shipmanager, who reported that the crew had used the CO2 flooding system for the engine room in an attempt to extinguish the fire. This appeared to work at first, but as a precautionary measure the Coast Guard reached out to nearby merchant shipping using the AMVER system to request assistance.
At about 2330 on Thursday night, Min Jiang Kou's crew reported that smoke aboard the vessel had increased. The master directed the crew to abandon ship into the lifeboats, but remained aboard himself to monitor the situation.
Two good Samaritan vessels, the bulker Jin Hai Ping and tanker Degu, answered the Coast Guard's request for assistance and arrived shortly on scene. Jin Hai Ping recovered the 22 crewmembers from the lifeboats and brought them all safely aboard by 1220 hours Friday afternoon. The merchant ship will deliver all of them to shore upon her arrival at Akita, Japan.
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The vessel is coordinating with American salvor Resolve Marine on next steps for a safe recovery.
"The willingness of fellow mariners to answer a distress call reminds us of the extraordinary commitment the maritime community shares to protecting life at sea," said Capt. Jessica Davila, Southwest District chief of incident management. "This rescue highlights the strength of international partnerships, and the vital role coordination plays in ensuring mariners in distress receive timely assistance."
