A large part of a cargo hold is flooded: After a fire broke out on the container ship “ONE Henry Hudson” in the port of Los Angeles, the rescue teams are still busy with firefighting and safety work.
On Friday, a serious fire broke out in the cargo area of the container ship, damaging numerous containers. Following the accident, the ship was moved to an anchorage about a nautical mile outside the port. The fire is largely under control, but has not yet been completely extinguished, as the US Coast Guard has now announced.
The stability of the ship is currently not a cause for concern, according to the Coast Guard. The salvage team is concentrating primarily on hold no. 03, which is estimated to be 80% full of water after initial extinguishing work.
“Safety is our top priority in managing this incident,” said Captain Stacey Crecy, Coast Guard Chief of Operations. “We are closely monitoring air quality, maintaining safety zones and coordinating with all agencies to ensure this incident remains an isolated incident and the public is protected.”
Firefighting and salvage operations are reportedly still ongoing. The ship’s crew and a contracted salvage team are monitoring the containers for sources of fire. A fire lance is used to extinguish and cool affected containers. Contracted tugs are continuously spraying water to carry out confinement cooling and maintain the integrity of the hull. Water remains the extinguishing agent.
More than 180 firefighters were on site during the operation; aircraft and drones were also used to determine the extent of the fire. The fire is now largely under control. The container ship in question is the “ONE Henry Hudson” (8,212 TEU), built in 2009.
It sails under the flag of Panama and arrived from Tokyo on November 19. At least 40 containers are said to have been affected by the fire. According to a statement from the fire department, an explosion occurred on board during the work, causing the fire to spread to other bays. In total, more than 100 containers may have been damaged.
Operations at the Yusen Container Terminal, where the ship was anchored, and at three other terminals in the port were temporarily suspended. Operations were resumed on Saturday. The US Coast Guard and the Los Angeles Harbor Police are maintaining a safety zone of half a mile around the container ship.
