A serious fire broke out on board the Maersk Frankfurt. The boxship, which had left Mundra, India, on 17th July, was supposed to reach Colombo, Sri Lanka, on 21st July.
The ship was off the southwest coast of India, 102 nautical miles from Goa, when it sent a distress call to the Indian Coast Guard. The rescue vessels Sachet, Sujeet and Samrat were immediately on the scene. They are currently engaged in an attempt to put out the flames.
Maersk confirmed the incident:”We can confirm a fire was reported on board one of our time-chartered vessels, Maersk Frankfurt, around 14:30 IST on 19 July 2024,” the company said on X. “Firefighting is underway with support from the Indian Coast Guard. The vessel is in stable condition. At the moment, we are unable to confirm the extent of the fire’s impact on the chartered vessel, Maersk Frankfurt. We are in constant touch with the vessel owner and ship managers. The safety of the crew remains the top priority at this moment.”
According to the latest update, one Filipino crew member died as a result of the fire, while the remaining two Ukrainians, one Russian and 17 Filipino nationals were unharmed.
Translation by Giles Foster
