Four injured after fire ignites on bulk carrier off Kaohsiung, Taiwan

The Taiwan Coast Guard Administration (TCGA) reports that a fire ignited on board a commercial vessel off the coast of Kaohsiung in the late afternoon (local time) of Saturday, January 4.

The blaze had ignited in the engine room of the Marshall Islands-flagged 50,000DWT bulk carrier Panoria. Although the crew were eventually able to extinguish the fire on their own, four individuals suffered burn injuries requiring treatment.

The TCGA attempted to evacuate all 21 of the vessel's crew by sea. However, the planned transfer of the survivors to another vessel was deemed impractical due to the bad weather and waves reaching as high as three metres.

A helicopter arrived later in the day on Saturday to evacuate the four injured sailors. The 17 other crewmembers meanwhile had to remain aboard ship after local officials decided not to risk deploying additional helicopters to the scene amid the worsening conditions.

A tug has since been despatched to take Panoria under tow. A TCGA official told local media that they expect the bulk carrier to be brought to Kaohsiung at around noon on Monday, January 6.