A fire has broken out on the container ship Maersk Frankfurt near the Karwar region of Karnataka, India.

The story is developing

The ship is located approximately 102 nautical miles southwest of Goa.

Two Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships have been dispatched from Goa to combat the fire with an ICG aircraft also deployed for an aerial assessment of the distressed vessel.

Dramatic visuals reveal intense flames on the container ship as the ICG ships work to extinguish the fire with water. ICG said explosions have been occurring on the front part of the vessel.

The vessel, reportedly carrying International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) cargo, is facing challenging firefighting efforts due to adverse weather conditions and heavy rain, as reported by ANI.

The 255-meter-long vessel, built in 2024, departed Mundra, India on July 17 and was scheduled to reach Colombo, Sri Lanka, on July 21.

Maersk on X confirmed the incident, stating: “We can confirm that a fire was reported onboard one of our time chartered vessels, Maersk Frankfurt, around 14:30 IST while the vessel was sailing from Mundra to Colombo. Firefighting is underway with support from the Indian Coast Guard. The vessel is in stable condition. At the moment, we are unable to confirm the extent of the fire’s impact on the chartered vessel, Maersk Frankfurt. We are in constant touch with the vessel owner and ship managers. The safety of the crew remains the top priority at this moment.”

Credit: Indian Coast Guard / X

Credit: Indian Coast Guard / X

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