ANKERAGE, Alaska — A large cargo ship with a fire in its hold is being held 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) off the coast of an Alaskan port as a precaution while efforts are made to extinguish the flames, the U.S. Coast Guard said Saturday.
There were no injuries among the 19 crew members aboard the Genius Star
The fire started on Christmas Day in cargo hold No. 1, a spokesperson for ship owner Wisdom Marine Group said in a statement. The crew released carbon dioxide into the hold and sealed it off due to concerns of an explosion.
Ship personnel alerted the Coast Guard about the fire early Thursday morning. The Coast Guard said it diverted the 400-foot cargo ship to Dutch Harbor, one of the nation's busiest fishing ports, located in Unalaska, an Aleutian Islands community about 770 miles (1,287 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage.
The ship arrived Friday, but an order was issued to prevent the Genius Star said Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Mike Salerno said in an email to The Associated Press.
“The city's primary concern is to protect the health and safety of our community members, the environment, fisheries and commerce,” Marjie Veeder, Unalaska's acting city manager, said in a statement.
Veeder said the city’s emergency operations center “acts on behalf of the community and advocates our position to protect our community. We are actively monitoring the situation.”
There is danger associated with any fire on a ship, prompting the Coast Guard to issue another safety measure, in addition to preventing the ship from getting closer than 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) to the coast.
“The safety of the residents of Unalaska and surrounding communities is a top priority for us, so out of an abundance of caution we are maintaining a 1.61 kilometer safety zone around the ship,” Salerno said.
The owners said there have been no oil spills related to the incident.
A team of maritime firefighting experts conducted an assessment of the ship late Friday and found no signs of structural deformation or blistering outside the cargo hold, the Coast Guard said.
That team will remain aboard the ship to assess the situation, Salerno said.
An expert hired by Taipei, Taiwan-based Wisdom Marine Group “is working diligently to prepare emergency plans, arrange a firefighting team and ensure necessary equipment is in place,” the group said in a statement.
The Coast Guard will investigate the cause of the fire.
According to the Marine Traffic website, the Genius Star XI left Vietnam on December 10 en route to Dutch Harbor. The ship with a loading capacity of more than 13,000 tons (11,793 tons) sails under the flag of Panama.