Fire crews in Copenhagen have brought a serious fire under control on a general cargo ship after more than a day.
The blaze broke out in the cargo hold of the 2,750-dwt Ann Rousing (built 1991) on Friday, the city’s fire service said on social media platform X.
The vessel had arrived from Odense on 12 October.
The 85-metre ship was loaded with scrap metal.
“The ship’s cargo is burning violently. We have deployed… water cannons for extinguishing, and use both waters from the harbour basin and the fire hydrant network,” the fire service added.
A plume of smoke drifted north and northeast but not over inhabited areas.
The fire authority described the operation as “complicated”.
The fire was still “burning fiercely” in the afternoon, it added.
Efforts were focused on extinguishing the flames and cooling the vessel’s structure.
Later on Saturday, an update said the situation remained serious. Floating barriers had been laid out in the harbour to contain possible pollution.
But no fuel leaks or injuries were reported.
Firefighting operations continued overnight into Saturday.
Water pumped out
The fire was almost out by Saturday, and water was pumped out to prevent capsizing.
The temperature inside the ship was still very high, with cooling taking place. The operation took 30 hours in all.
“The cargo on board is partially burnt,” the fire service said.
The Ann Rousing is operated by Maritim Supply of Denmark.
The ship has insurance coverage through Hydor of Norway.
The vessel has never been detained following port state control safety checks.
At its last inspection in June in Sweden, five deficiencies were found, however.
These included improperly maintained launching arrangements for rescue boats and the oil record book not being filled in correctly.
Source : TradeWinds
