Fire breaks out on car carrier in North Sea

A fire on board a Singapore-flagged vehicle carrier ended up disabling the ship as it was sailing through the North Sea near Germany on the night of October 14.

Wallenius Lines’ Baltic Breeze was en route from Drammen, Norway, to Cuxhaven, Germany, when a fire broke out in the engine room.

The disabled ship then started to drift at around 00:00 UTC.

Firefighters from Cuxhaven were brought on board via helicopter after the failure of the crew to bring the blaze under control due to reportedly heavy smoke.

The firefighters eventually managed to put out the blaze.

As of 14:30 on October 14, Baltic Breeze was still adrift but was being accompanied by two tugs and a pollution control vessel. No injuries or oil spills have been reported.