A fire that broke out on board a Korean fishing vessel at the port of Cape Town on February 18 has been put under control, according to the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA).
“The fire is under control, but has spread to the back (aft) of the vessel. The City of Cape Town Fire Services are rendering boundary cooling from the quay side and a TNPA tug from the waterside. The vessel is still listing to port and is trimmed by the stern, limiting firefighting capabilities on board,” Captain Antoinette Keller, SAMSA acting Principal Officer for Cape Town, said.
Local authorities were alerted to the fire on board the fishing vessel No.101 Geumjeong at about 1.20 am at a repair quay at the port of Cape Town. The City of Cape Town Fire Department and the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) crews were sent to the scene.
“There is no reported loss of life and all individuals are accounted for. Currently there is no personnel on board and the fire is being addressed via boundary cooling for safety reasons, both from shore side and sea side. The vessels in the immediate vicinity have been safely moved to alternate berths,” Keller informed.
Keller added that the incident had no impact on shipping and posed no pollution risk at the moment, however, the authorities were keeping pollution equipment on standby should deployment become necessary.
An investigation will be launched into the cause of the fire as soon as it has been put out, according to SAMSA.