According to Philippine Coast Guard, on 28th April, a derelict car carrier caught fire off Philippines. The fire continues to burn several hours after being first reported with one of the Coast Guard’s tugs augmenting the firefighting efforts.
As informed, the vessel is the former car carrier Diamond Highway. Built in 2004 as the Utopia Ace, the vessel was operating in 2019 under charter to Japan’s K Line. A 19,000 dwt car carrier, the vessel had a capacity of 6,354 cars.
The vessel was inbound to the Philippines on June 15, 2019, from Singapore when a fire was reported. The crew of 25 was forced to abandon the ship and later rescued by a bulk carrier. The vessel burned for days before the fire was contained.
Friday’s fire reportedly began as crews were cutting away scrap metal in the area of the starboard bow.
The Coast Guard is reporting that the scrap company’s supervisor said that they safely disembarked all their personnel that had been conducting the scrap operation.
UPDATE: The @coastguardph Sub-Station Lapu-Lapu and MEPU-Central Visayas assist the BFP in combating the fire on board MV DIAMOND HIGHWAY at the vicinity shoreline of Punta Engaño, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, today, 28 April 2023.
🎥 https://t.co/iDeTF44t35#DOTrPH 🇵🇭#CoastGuardPH pic.twitter.com/u0iV121tuM
— Philippine Coast Guard (@coastguardph) April 28, 2023
