The fire-stricken container ship ‘APL Vancouver’ is now en route to Singapore. The vessel was cleared for departure on February 12th following inspections by the Salvage team and Class surveyor.
Additional safety measures have been provided for its voyage to Singapore, including an escort tug.
The incident onboard the vessel has been brought to an end with swift emergency response by its crew and immediate salvage operations that were activated. All crew onboard has remained safe and no pollution has resulted from the situation,
…the vessel’s operators said.
A fire broke out on the container vessel APL Vancouver, in one of its cargo holds, on January 31, while the vessel was on passage from Shekou to Singapore. A fire broke out on the container vessel APL Vancouver, in one of its cargo holds, on January 31. At that time, the vessel was on passage from Shekou to Singapore.
The fire started in one of the ship’s cargo bays, with video from the scene showing the fire located on a container stack just forward of the accommodations block.
A full investigation will be undertaken to determine the cause of the incident.
APL would like to express its gratitude to the Vietnamese authorities for their very efficient and effective professional assistance.
It is good to see the Ports & Harbours folks in Vietnam worked well with APL. Cooperation on a global basis can keep such incidents as minor vs the sinking of another. Speed of response, keep the incident small vs escalation is paramount. Regions where people have “passed off to others” or “not in my back yard” are part of the problem not part of any cure. No one wants to get that call, “fire at sea” or “emergency at sea”. All know the risks to all involved. Expedited response in a cooperative fashion – team work…. 10% happens but 90% is what you do with it. Act vs react. Good work by all! Best Regards!