A large cargo ship with a fire in its hold is being saved 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) offshore of an Alaska port as a precaution whereas efforts are undertaken to extinguish the flames, the U.S. Coast Guard stated Saturday.
There have been no accidents to the 19 crew members aboard the Genius Star XI, which was carrying a load of lithium-ion batteries throughout the Pacific Ocean, from Vietnam to San Diego, the guard’s Alaska district stated in a launch.
The hearth began on Christmas Day in cargo maintain No. 1, a spokesperson for ship proprietor Wisdom Marine Group stated in an announcement. The crew launched carbon dioxide into the maintain and sealed it over issues of an explosion.
Ship’s personnel alerted the Coast Guard early Thursday morning in regards to the fireplace. The Coast Guard stated it diverted the 410-foot (125-meter) cargo ship to Dutch Harbor, one of many nation’s busiest fishing ports positioned in Unalaska, an Aleutian Islands group about 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
The ship arrived Friday, however an order stopping the Genius Star XI from going near shore was issued to “mitigate risks associated with burning lithium-ion batteries or toxic gasses produced by the fire,” Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Mike Salerno stated in an e mail to The Related Press.
“The city’s primary concern is protecting the health and safety of our community members, the environment, fisheries and commerce,” Unalaska appearing metropolis supervisor Marjie Veeder stated in an announcement.
Veeder stated town’s emergency operations middle “is acting on behalf of the community and advocating our position to protect our community. We are actively monitoring the situation.”
There may be hazard related to any vessel fireplace, prompting the Coast Guard to subject one other security measure moreover stopping the ship from getting nearer than 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) to shore.
”The protection of Unalaska residents and the encircling communities is a high precedence for us, in order a precaution we’re maintaining a one-mile (1.61-kilometer) security zone across the vessel,” Salerno stated.
The homeowners stated there was no oil leaks related to the incident.
A group of marine firefighting specialists late Friday performed an evaluation of the ship and located no indicators of structural deformation or blistering outdoors of the cargo maintain, the Coast Guard stated.
That group stays on board the ship to guage the state of affairs, Salerno stated.
An knowledgeable employed by the Taipei, Taiwan-based Knowledge Marine Group “is working diligently to create contingency plans, organize for a firefighting group, and make sure the needed gear is in place,’ the group stated in an announcement.
The Coast Guard will examine the reason for the fireplace.
The Genius Star XI left Vietnam on Dec. 10 en path to Dutch Harbor, in line with the Marine Traffic website. The ship with a carrying capability of greater than 13,000 tons (11,793 metric tonnes) sails underneath the flag of Panama.
