US Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound marine investigator and senior investigators with the Transportation and Safety Board of Canada boarded the 876-foot container ship ‘MOL Prestige’ on 12 February, at Pier 18 in the Port of Seattle, to begin preliminary investigations into the cause of the engine room fire that the vessel suffered earlier this month.
To remind, the ship was en route from Vancouver to Tokyo with 23 crew onboard, when it encountered an engine fire and was adrift 207nm southwest of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, on 1 February. After receiving a distress call about the accident, Victoria Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (VJRCC), in cooperation with the Canadian Coast Guard, deployed an aircraft and a helicopter on the scene, rescuing two injured crew members.
“The USCG and other international governments are key participants of the IMO which helps focus attention on the importance of shipping safety, maritime security and the marine environment,” the USCG said in a statement.
