Bengaluru: Tragedy has struck as a fire on the Maersk Frankfurt has resulted in the death of one of its 21 crew members. The cargo vessel is currently situated approximately 65 kilometers southwest of Mangalore, Karnataka.
For over 40 hours, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships and helicopters have been at the forefront of firefighting efforts. As of the afternoon of Sunday, July 21, the ICG has deployed five vessels—Samrat, Sujeet, Sachet, Varaha, and Samudra Prahari—to combat the blaze, which has spread to various parts of the cargo vessel. The Maersk Frankfurt was transporting International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) from Mundra, Gujarat to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
According to the Indian Coast Guard, the intensity of the fire has diminished, though heavy smoke continues to obscure the flames. The fire has extended to the right side of the ship, impacting the containers stacked in that section. The blaze erupted around 5 p.m. IST on Friday, July 19, prompting immediate firefighting operations by the ICG.
The firefighting efforts are supported by an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH Mk3), which is dispensing packets of Dry Chemical Powder (DCP), a specialized firefighting agent. Additionally, a Dornier short-range maritime patrol plane is monitoring the situation to detect any potential oil spill from the burning vessel.
As per media reports, the MV Maersk Frankfurt is manned by a crew of 21, including 17 Filipinos, two Ukrainians, one Russian, and one Montenegrin. The deceased crew member is Filipino. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The vessel also poses a risk due to the 1,400 metric tons of diesel it carries. ICG assets are employing water and specialized firefighting chemicals such as Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) and DCP to control the fire.
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An Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV), Water Lily, departed from Mumbai on Friday evening and is expected to reach the vessel by Sunday evening. Additionally, the owner of the MV Maersk Frankfurt has mobilized a salvage team to board the vessel and undertake necessary actions. The Indian Coast Guard will coordinate with the salvage team to expedite containment and recovery operations.
As a precaution, the Indian Coast Guard has also deployed a specialized Pollution Control Vessel (PCV), Samudra Prahari. PCVs are designed to handle various tasks including firefighting, responding to oil and chemical spills, and dispersing special chemicals to mitigate the environmental impact of at-sea incidents.
