Massive Fire Breaks Out In the Engine Room Of An Oil Tanker Off Germany’s Baltic Coast

A massive fire started in the engine room of an oil tanker off Germany, in the Bay of Mecklenburg between Kühlungsborn and Warnemünde in the Baltic Sea.

All 7 crew members were rescued and taken to the shore, though efforts are being made to put out the blaze and prevent an oil spill, per reports from the German Sea Rescue Association, responsible for search and rescue services on the North and Baltic Seas.

Authorities report that the news of the accident was received onshore by radio after 9:00 a.m. on October 11, 2024, and black smoke could be seen on the coast, even though the ship was 2.5 nm from the coast.

The 73 m long German oil and chemical tanker is called Annika and was loaded with 640 tons of oil the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Bremen, took several measures to rescue the crew members and put out the fire.

The crew was saved by Wilma Sikorski sea rescue boat, stationed at the DGzRS station Kühlungsborn, within an hour of the initial notification about the fire accident. The crew were taken to a hospital and the sea area and airspace within a 3nm radius around the ship was closed.

While the tanker was burning, Arkona multipurpose vessel and a deep-sea salvage tug began the firefighting measures to prevent the fire from spreading further or getting out of control, leading to an explosion or an oil spill.

Many firefighting teams were called since the emergency command took over the operation. Teams of firefighters from Kiel and Rostock onboard Arkona moored alongside the burning tanker and tried to board it while more help was on its way, from the Lubeck fire department.

References: AP News, Azer News

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