Ship fire: Fire on tanker – major relief operation on the Baltic Sea

Ship fire
Fire on tanker – large relief operation on the Baltic Sea

The tanker is to be towed into the port of Rostock. Photo: Hannes P Albert/dpa

The tanker is to be towed into the port of Rostock. photo

© Hannes P Albert/dpa

A massive contingent of ships and emergency services prevented anything worse from happening. The engine room of the tanker “Annika” catches fire off Heiligendamm. It should be finally deleted in Rostock.

It’s a dreaded scenario: the fire of a tanker on the busy river Baltic Sea between Germany and Denmark. On Friday, a large-scale operation of sea rescuers, tugboats and fire fighters off the coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania apparently prevented the worst from happening after a fire broke out in the engine room of a tanker. According to the accident command, the 73 meter long “Annika” was on its way from Rostock to Travemünde with around 640 tons of oil on board.

After the fire in the stern area of ​​the ship was brought under control, the tanker should be towed into the port of Rostock on Friday. The fire should be finally extinguished there.

The 12 meter wide tanker was anchored about 4.5 kilometers off Heiligendamm. According to the Schwerin Ministry of the Environment, no water contamination has occurred so far. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Environment Minister Till Backhaus (SPD) expressed concern. According to a statement from the Federal Environment Ministry on Platform X, Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) said: “I look with concern at the burning tanker in the Baltic Sea.” Fortunately, all sailors are safely on land. Thank you to the specialists on site.

Unexplained cause of fire

The fire broke out in the morning for an unknown reason. The German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People brought the seven crew members to safety and to shore. According to the incident command, several people were slightly injured.

The emergency services began fighting the fire from the outside from three ships. Firefighting teams made their way to the tanker in helicopters. In the early afternoon they went on board the “Annika” to explore. The next steps were then discussed. According to the police, an exclusion zone of three nautical miles was set up around the scene.

Black smoke

Photos show how large amounts of water are sprayed onto the tanker by the emergency ships. Black smoke comes out of the ship’s stern area with its engine room and bridge. According to the sea rescue workers, the smoke from the burning ship was visible all the way to the coast. Further details and the cause of the fire are not yet known.

Environment Minister Backhaus spoke of a very dynamic situation. He is following events with concern. “I’m glad the crew could be evacuated quickly.” In coordination with the emergency command, which has taken over overall operational management, a picture of the situation is currently being obtained. “We will do everything we can to prevent greater damage to the environment.”

Within sight of the coast

The accident occurred within sight of the heavily touristy coast between Warnemünde and Kühlungsborn. Martin Delpiano-Weber, who is staying at the hotel in Heiligendamm with his wife, said they saw the ship in the morning. He reported a kind of fire roller or flash of flame. “Parallel has already been deleted.”

The head of the state tourism association, Tobias Woitendorf, reacted with shock. “This is a situation that we are always afraid of in tourism,” he said. “We have very busy waters here.” The fire on the coastal tanker is a major disaster, the consequences of which have not yet been fully assessed.

Praise from WWF for quick action

The environmental organization WWF praised the rapid response of the rescue workers and firefighting teams. The North Emergency Command has proven itself, said the head of the WWF Baltic Sea office in Stralsund, Finn Viehberg. “This is the demand that we keep making: a dense emergency command network across the entire Baltic Sea,” said Viehberg. This is not the case everywhere where dangerous goods ships are traveling, he emphasized.

Scientists concerned about environment

The director of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), Oliver Zielinski, is very concerned about the fire. “This is a ship loaded with 640 tons of heavy oil a few kilometers off the coast and we have strong westerly winds,” said the professor. “So, in the worst case scenario, this would be pushed into a very sensitive shallow marine ecosystem.” Zielinski emphasized: “640 tons – that is a large amount of heavy oil and can cause massive damage to the environment.” He really hopes that doesn’t happen. “The countermeasures are well underway.”

Schleswig-Holstein’s Environment Minister Goldschmidt warns

Schleswig-Holstein’s Environment Minister Tobias Goldschmidt (Greens) pointed out the growing risk of an oil disaster. “This burning tanker shows once again how great a threat to the marine environment is caused by the increasing tanker traffic in the Baltic Sea.”

What is particularly worrying is the increase in old and underinsured Russian oil tankers in the so-called shadow fleet, which is not insured against the consequences of such accidents, said Goldschmidt. “The risk of an oil disaster is increasing. And this oil would primarily end up on our beaches from Fehmarn to Eckernförde, as Greenpeace investigations from the Kadetrinne show.”

Baltic Sea one of the busiest seas

The Baltic Sea is considered one of the busiest seas in the world. According to Viehberg, around 2,000 large ships travel there every day. These include tankers with up to 100,000 tons of cargo on board. The accident off Heiligendamm was a “shot across the bow,” said the scientist.

dpa

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