After two days of firefighting, a cargo fire aboard a freighter at a port in the Canary Islands has been contained, with responders covering the bulk cargo in foam to prevent re-ignition.
On December 9, a fire broke out on the bulker Langeland while it was docked at the Arinaga port, located on the western side of Gran Canaria. The ship was in the process of loading scrap metal when the fire began in the hold. Moreover, local reports state that the crew attempted to seal the hatches and activate the ship’s firefighting system, but the electrical system for the hatch had already been destroyed, preventing the hold from being closed.
Most of the crew evacuated the vessel, and local fire teams assisted the remaining seafarers combat the blaze. The port briefly suspended its operations and moved another nearby ship to a different berth as a precautionary measure. Gran Canaria’s firefighting forces deployed a ladder truck to the scene and applied water from the shore. However, operations were paused late that night, as the responders wanted to avoid destabilizing the ship by adding too much water.
The fire subsided overnight, but on 10 December flared up again, sending dense black smoke downwind away from the port. Firefighters resumed operations with a combination of water and foam, with support from a tugboat’s fire monitors. Furthermore, Las Palmas Maritime Authority chief Ignacio Gallego Carro told local media that the blaze was not a serious risk to the public. At about 6 p.m. local time, the fire was brought under control.
An investigation is ongoing, but authorities suspect the fire may have been caused by the spontaneous ignition of the scrap metal cargo, which is sometimes contaminated with flammable materials, including damaged lithium-ion batteries.
