SMIT Salvage is present with two tugboats at the Marie Maersk, which is drifting off the coast of Liberia in West Africa, after the 19,076 TEU Danish-registered container ship was hit by a fire in several containers on board on Wednesday morning.
There is no information on the extent of the fire at the current time, but the two tugboats – Captain Cat and Med Rigel – are contributing to the firefighting efforts with their water cannons.
Maersk reports that no crew members have been injured and that the ship is stable. According to AIS, the ship has limited maneuverability, though this does not indicate anything about its seaworthiness.
The Marie Maersk was en route from Rotterdam to Tanjung Pelepas when the crew observed smoke from several containers on deck.
The ship’s firefighting equipment was activated, and the crew began combating the fire. At the same time, the ship altered course and headed toward land.
Another Maersk container ship, the Maersk Savannah, was briefly in the vicinity of the Marie Maersk but has now resumed its southbound voyage.
-mauh
