Containership Catches Fire at Manila Port
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Sunday, September 13, 2015
The Marshall Islands-flagged containership MV Cape Moreton caught fire while berthed at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT)in Tondo, in the Philippines on Saturday.
Reports from the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said smoke was first seen billowing from freight containers onboard MV Cape Moreton around 9:15 a.m. Photos from the scene show thick smoke billowing from the cargo area as firefighters battled the blaze.
The PCG said around 20 fire trucks of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) were sent to put out the flames, with some responders also using tugboats to approach the vessel. BFP personnel boarded the vessel and assisted the ship's crew.
The 27,786-gross ton cargo ship, owned by Cape Moreton Shipping Company Ltd., arrived at MICP at 7:48 p.m. last Friday. Captain Daryl Vargas, head of Coast Guard Station in Manila, identified the vessel’s operator as Hanse Bereederung Gmbh based in Hamburg, Germany.
No casualties were reported while the cause of the fire is still being determined.