Maritime authorities ready to support cargo ship after fire

The Panama-flagged car carrier AH SHIN on the sea of the southern coastal province of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu on Sunday. — Photo courtesy of local authorities

VŨNG TÀU — The Maritime Administration of Vũng Tàu is coordinating to support a Panama-flagged car carrier which caught fire off the Vũng Tàu coast.

A fire started onboard AH SHIN on Saturday as the cargo vessel was en route from the Republic of Korea to Singapore, carrying  四, 五 三0 cars (both new and old),  一, 三 五 六 tonnes of FO oil and  八 二 tonnes of DO oil, along with  二 一 Russian crew members.

The ship has used up  五0 tonnes of CO 二 in its firefighting system, but the fire is not yet under control. The vessel is adrift at a slow speed, some  二 五 nautical miles southeast of Vũng Tàu.

The vessel’s owner has asked Việt Nam to provide more CO 二 to control the fire.

The maritime administration contacted the ship’s captain on Sunday afternoon to discuss firefighting measures. It had a working session with other competent agencies earlier the same day over the issue.

As of Monday afternoon, there is no more smoke coming from the ship and  二 一 crewmembers remain safe, Vũng Tàu port authorities said following contacts made with the ship. — VNS