VIDEO: Containership reports engineroom fire

Written by Nick Blenkey
Smoke comes out of ventilation ducts

NYK Delphinus contacted Coast Guard Sector San Francisco to report engine room fire. [USCG photograph]

A 4,888 TEU NYK Line containership was under tow Sunday after a Unified Command consisting of the Coast Guard, California and Resolve Marine responded following a report of an engineroom fire.

The ship, the 2007-built, Liberian-flagged NYK Delphinus, was approximately 50 miles west of Monterey, Calif., when it contacted Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders at 4:54 a.m., May 14, reporting the fire.

Watchstanders directed the launch of the Coast Guard Cutter Sockeye crew to assess the situation along with two Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews. The aircrew arrived on scene at 9:26 a.m., Friday, and transferred a dewatering pump to the Delphinus crew.

A Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan crew provided surveillance of the vessel. Resolve Marine contracted five tugboats to assist.

By Saturday morning, the crew reported the engine room had seen a steady decline in temperature. Smoke was no longer visible and the crew reported the fire as contained.

Four of the tugboats contracted by Resolve Marine, the tugs Jamie Ann, Sarah Avrick, Delta Deanna and Delta Lindsay arrived on scene and sprayed water on the Delphinus‘s hull to provide additional cooling measures.

The tugboat Delta Deanna began actively towing the Delphinus in a northerly direction at 10:55 a.m., Saturday. At 2:55 p.m., the ships met the fifth tugboat contracted by Resolve, Scorpius, to transfer two additional personnel to the Delphinus to survey the damage.

By Sunday, the Delta Deanna and the tugboats Sarah Avrick, Delta Lindsay, and Jamie Ann were continuing to transit the Delphinus to an offshore location west of Point Reyes.

Upon arrival, additional fire and salvage teams are planning to embark on the Delphinus to conduct structural integrity inspections and examine damage to the engine room. Once the inspection is completed, the Delphinus is scheduled to transfer to Oakland Terminal Berth 22.

There are no reported injuries and all 24 crew are reported safe and accounted for.

There are no reported signs of pollution.

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