A seven-member crew has been evacuated and taken ashore after a fire broke out in the engine room of an oil tanker off the coast of Germany, however, efforts continue to put out the blaze and prevent an oil spill on the Baltic Sea coast, according to reports from the German Sea Rescue Association (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger – DGzRS), which is responsible for search and rescue services on the North and Baltic Seas.
According to German authorities, a notification about a fire breaking out on a tanker in the Bay of Mecklenburg between Kühlungsborn and Warnemünde in the Baltic Sea was received by radio shortly after 9 a.m. on Friday, October 11, 2024. Black smoke was visible far out to the coast even though the vessel was about 2.5 nautical miles (around 4.5 kilometers) from the coast.