Engine Room Fire on Ship in Humber

Friday, February 06, 2009
Posted 07:41 GMT

The engine room of a cargo ship carrying Bauxite caught fire this morning at 03:34hrs at the entrance to the River Humber.

The Mayday call was received by Humber Coastguard from the Netherlands registered vessel SALINE. This 1,990 gross tonne vessel reported that they had attempted to extinguish the fire by smothering the engine room with CO2 gas.

A RAF helicopter from Leconfield was sent along with Humber Lifeboat ready to evacuate the seven crew if required. The crew are all unharmed and remained on-board the vessel. The Humber Lifeboat remains on scene.

The vessel SALINE is currently being towed by the Ports fire tug LADY STEPHANIE. The specialist fire fighting MIRG Team from Humberside Fire and Rescue are on-board assessing the situation.

Drew Mahood Watch Manager at Humber Coastguard said:
This is a good example of interagency working between the Coastguard and the Fire Brigade in an emergency at sea.

Notes:

1. Bauxite is the principal ore of aluminium. It consists of a mixture of hydrated aluminium oxides and is formed by the chemical weathering of rocks in tropical climates.
2. The UK Maritime Incident Response Group (MIRG) is funded by the MCA and composed of specially trained fire and rescue officers from forces around the UK

For further details contact:
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency Press Office 023 8032 9401