Blast triggers fire on containership in Dutch North Sea

The Daily Mail reports that a container vessel suffered an onboard explosion and a subsequent fire while underway in the North Sea off the Dutch coast on Wednesday, April 9.

Netherlands Coastguard units were deployed to the waters near the coastal town of Hoek van Holland following the explosion in the engine room of the Liberian-flagged containership Victoria L at around 13:00 local time on Wednesday.

The ship had earlier departed the Port of Rotterdam and was en route to Hamburg at the time of the incident. The crew had attempted to contain the blaze but were unsuccessful, prompting the captain to request assistance from Dutch authorities.

A number of rescue boats and two helicopters deployed to the area to render assistance. One of the helicopters carried a team of firefighters.

Dutch officials said that the fire on Victoria L was finally extinguished by 17:00 and that no injuries have been reported among the 19 crewmembers.

Smoke reportedly continued to billow from the ship even after the blaze was extinguished. However, officials have assured that the ship's propulsion was not affected and that it is still capable of sailing back to Rotterdam under its own power.