A major fire that erupted on July 19 aboard a merchant navy ship off the Karwar coast has been extinguished with ongoing efforts to keep the affected vessel away from the coastline due to the serious risk it poses, as reported by the Coast Guard on Tuesday. The Coast Guard said that the ship is currently 13 nautical miles west of New Mangalore and is heading towards open sea.
The MV Maersk Frankfurt, which was transporting 1,154 containers, including hazardous materials like benzene and sodium cyanide, caught fire approximately 102 nautical miles off the Goa coast while en route from Mundra in Gujarat to Colombo in Sri Lanka. The blaze claimed the life of one crew member, according to a Coast Guard official.
Taking to X, the Indian Coast Guard said, "#ICG OP to make safe MV #MaerskFrankfurt enters day 05. @IndiaCoastGuard continues firefighting operations in extreme monsoon conditions, successfully dousing major fires aboard. #ICG ships Samudra Prahari & Sachet lead efforts, with support from Albattros 5 & ETV Water Lily. M/s SMIT Salvers initial team embarked distressed vessel."
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has deployed an initial team of four—one Indian and three Filipino members—to assist in the response.
"Due to sustained efforts by ICG ships as first responders, the major fire has been doused and white smoke is visible with recurrent minor fires due to the content inside containers," the maritime security agency said.
ICGS Samudra Prahari, a specialised pollution control vessel, and ICGS Sachet, an advanced offshore patrol vessel, are working to manage the remaining small fires.