A blaze involving containers filled with coal on a cargo vessel journeying from the Ivory Coast to Algeciras (Cádiz) has compelled the ship to alter its course and dock in Santa Cruz de Tenerife this Sunday, as reported to EFE by the Tenerife Firefighters.
Around mid-morning, emergency services were notified of the vessel at the eastern dock in the capital of Tenerife, where fire had been detected in one of the containers, as detailed by sources.
The firefighters’ intervention was not required since the port personnel had managed to extinguish the blaze; they attended the port as a precautionary measure.
The Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has indicated that there are specifically five containers from the Maersk shipping company affected by the incident, which has been docked since 10:20 this morning.
Operators have been working throughout the day and plan to continue tonight, ensuring the containers remain cool to prevent any rise in temperature.
Cooling of the containers has been accomplished using two methods: one involves injecting water directly into the containers where the fire was discovered, while the other cools the adjacent containers.
The circumstances are “entirely under control” and it is anticipated that tomorrow, at around mid-morning, the vessel will proceed to the Tenerife container terminal to unload the containers before continuing its route to Algeciras, according to the Port Authority.
