A large cargo ship with a fire in its hold is being kept 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) offshore of an Alaska port as a precaution while efforts are undertaken to extinguish the flames, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.
There were no injuries to the 19 crew members aboard the Genius Star XI, which was carrying a load of lithium-ion batteries across the Pacific Ocean, from Vietnam to San Diego, the guard’s Alaska district said in a release.
The fire started on Christmas Day in cargo hold No. 1, a spokesperson for ship owner Wisdom Marine Group said in a statement. The crew released carbon dioxide into the hold and sealed it over concerns of an explosion.
Ship’s personnel alerted the Coast Guard early Thursday morning about the fire. The Coast Guard said it diverted the 410-foot (125-meter) cargo ship to Dutch Harbor, one of the nation’s busiest fishing ports located in Unalaska, an Aleutian Islands community about 800 miles (1,287 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
Were there no other options?
It was burning, past tense, and besides, those batteries don’t detonate. I’m pleasantly surprised they have a CO2 mitigation system and ability to seal the cargo hold. Had no idea that was a thing!
Get it into port where you got the resources to have a look, get the crew offboard, experts onboard. Sounds like a sane plan to me.
Is the fire out?
It does not appear so by reading the article.
First paragraph:
Timeline - Fire started Monday. CO2 released then? Ship told Coast Guard on Thursday, divert order given then? Ship still burning offshore on Saturday.
Lithium car batteries supply their own oxygen so a simple gas smothering might not work.
Don’t like lithium fish sticks?
(I probably wouldn’t either)