A FIRE on a containership off the Malaysian coast appears to be under control, but 24 containers have reportedly been affected.
Fire broke out on KMTC Shenzhen (IMO 9626417) on 12 August while it was in Port Klang waters.
Malaysian authorities said 1189 containers were on the 2778-TEU vessel. Nine were reported damaged on 14 August, but an update on Tuesday suggests 24 have been impacted.
Authorities said the vessel’s 18 crewmembers survived, and no injuries were reported.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and partner agencies deployed firefighting tugs and worked over the weekend to extinguish the blaze.
“The rescue operation coordinated by the Selangor Negeri Maritime has so far succeeded in controlling the fire from spreading to high risk areas,” the Malaysian coast guard wrote in a social media post on 14 August (according to a translation of the post).
Authorities reported the fire was under control within two hours, but efforts continued as smoke was still coming from the containers.
The Malaysian coast guard in an update said the fire was “fully controlled” by Tuesday afternoon.
“Monitoring from firefighters continues to ensure the likelihood of the fire no longer occurring,” the coast guard wrote.
Marine claims consultant WK Webster said cargo stowed in the vicinity of the fire may have been affected by heat, smoke and wet damage because of the fire-fighting operation.
“It is likely that general average, salvage, and recovery issues may arise as a result of this casualty,” it said.
KMTC Shenzhen is a Korean-flagged ship built in 2013. AIS data suggests if left Hong Kong on 8 August.
