Ship fire: Major operation involving a burning oil tanker on the Baltic Sea

Ship fire
Major operation on burning oil tanker on the Baltic Sea

Emergency ships at burning coastal tanker. Photo: -/The sea rescuers - DGzRS/dpa

Emergency ships at burning coastal tanker. photo

© -/The sea rescuers – DGzRS/dpa

The Baltic Sea north of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is a busy shipping route and oil is a dangerous cargo. Now a tanker has caught fire. Auxiliary workers are in large-scale deployment.

On the A coastal tanker caught fire in the Baltic Sea off Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. According to the accident command in Cuxhaven, the 73 meter long “Annika” was carrying around 640 tons of oil. According to the information, it is located in the Mecklenburg Bay off Heiligendamm. According to the Schwerin Ministry of the Environment, no water contamination has occurred so far. The tanker is at anchor and is connected to a tugboat. A large-scale operation by rescue and emergency services began on land and at sea.

Unexplained cause of fire

The fire broke out in the morning for an unknown reason. The German Society for the Rescue of Shipwrecked People (DGzRS) brought the seven crew members to safety and to shore. According to the Environment Ministry, they apparently remained uninjured. The media initially reported injuries.

According to the accident command, firefighting began from the outside of three ships. Several fire brigade teams with helicopters are also on their way to the tanker. Support came from fire departments in Kiel, Lübeck and Rostock. According to the police, an exclusion zone of three nautical miles was set up around the scene.

Black smoke can be seen from far away

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 sea rescue workers, the smoke from the burning ship can be seen all the way to the coast. Further details and the cause of the fire are not yet known. The radio station Ostseewelle initially reported.

dpa

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