A fire erupted at about 3.30am Tokyo time in the cargo hold of Chinese general cargo vessel Tian Feng 3 while it was docked at Fukuoka, Japan. The vessel was loading scrap, with some 500 tons already loaded, when the fire started. It was brought under control after four and a half hours after the deployment of 18 fire teams, tugs and a helicopter. No injuries were reported.
A fire was reported on board crude oil tanker Aframax River to Houston-Galveston sector Coast Guard at around midnight on September 6th local time. The vessel was proceeding to berth when the hull was punctured by an unidentified object in the bunker tank area, with consequent sparks igniting a fire. Some fuel was spilled and Houston Ship Channel was closed at 00.08am local time September 6th. No injuries were reported and crew is understood to have remained on board.
General cargo vessel Sea Lord, which is anchored off Khalifa Bin Salman Port, Bahrain is reported stranded in Bahrain waters since March this year. Eleven crew have not been paid for nearly six months and the vessel is understood to run out of fuel. The air conditioning is off. Bahrain MAP has blacklisted the owners; the crew are to be repatriated, but the ship’s fate is not clear.
Chemical tanker Eko 5 suffered steering failure early on September 6th in the Aegean Sea, west of Kythnosisland, Greece, while en route from Aspropyrgos to Heraklion, Crete. Vessel was to be taken on tow by a contracted tug but now appears to have solved its problem.