Five injured after US Coast Guard cutter suffers onboard fire off Japan

The US Coast Guard confirms that a fire had broken out on one of its vessels during a scheduled deployment in the Western Pacific off Japan.

The blaze on the Legend-class national security cutter (NSC) Waesche ignited at approximately 17:18 local time on Sunday, September 20, while the vessel was within the area of operations (AOR) of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet.

The coast guard said the fire had spread to different areas of the superstructure but was successfully extinguished by the crew 90 minutes after it first ignited.

Five crewmembers reported minor injuries sustained during firefighting efforts and have since been treated by the onboard medical team.

Waesche arrived at the naval base at Yokosuka, Japan, on Wednesday, September 23. While at Yokosuka, the cutter will undergo further inspection and repairs.

The extent of the damages and the cause of the fire are currently under investigation.