Video: Container Fire Aboard Ship Docked in Vietnam 

[Brief]  Vietnamese authorities report that they were successfully able to extinguish a container fire aboard the feeder vessel that works between the country’s ports. 

Reports indicate that the fire broke out in the number two cargo hold of the 8,720 dwt vessel Morning Vinafco while the vessel was handling cargo in the Ho Chi Minh City port of Ben Nghe. Video shows smoke billowing from the open hold of the feeder vessel while at the dock on September 4.

 

 

The fire and a possible explosion were reported to the local port authorities at around 8:45 am on Saturday after the crew was unsuccessful in putting the fire out on its own. The port police, border guard, and local fire crews responded to the fire. After about 30 minutes the flames had been extinguished, but crews remained on the screen.

Local reports indicate that no one was injured in the fire but that goods loaded aboard the containership were heavily damaged. The captain told authorities that a container had been loaded aboard the ship overnight that was believed to be the source of the fire. There was no indication as to the contents of the container.

The 500 teu vessel operates with a crew of 16 and travels along the Vietnamese coast transshipping containers from the international port to regional hubs. Local authorities were investigating the source of the fire, but AIS data indicated that the vessel departed Ho Chi Minh City on September 5.