All fires extinguished on burning boxship in Port Klang, Malaysia

Malaysian news outlet BH reports that the nearly-week-long firefighting effort on the containership Interasia Catalyst was successfully concluded on Tuesday, April 13.

The Port Klang Authority said in a statement that the blaze on the Singaporean-flagged, 260-metre ship was finally extinguished at around 14:00 local time on Tuesday, thanks to the efforts of local agencies including the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), and the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia (Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia; JBPM).

The port authority added that there were no injuries and that regular port operations were not affected by the incident and the subsequent firefighting effort.

A total of 13 containers were damaged in the fire, which first ignited after Interasia Catalyst left Port Klang with an intended destination of Cochin, India, on April 5. The vessel arrived in Port Klang two days later just as the blaze began to spread on the cargo deck.

The flames were extinguished on five of the containers over the weekend.

Investigators have also been opening undamaged containers to identify possible fire and safety hazards among the remaining cargo. Authorities have deemed the inspections as necessary upon learning that some of the damaged containers were laden with sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate, a hazardous compound used in the manufacture of pesticides.