MPV Everest returns safely to Fremantle after engine room fire

The Dutch-flagged, Australian-chartered Antarctic resupply ship MPV Everest safely berthed in the Port of Fremantle at 17:30 local time on Tuesday, April 13, following a fire in its port-side engine room while in the Southern Ocean about 1,700 nautical miles off the coast of Western Australia earlier this month.

The vessel was diverted from Hobart to Fremantle as the latter was the closer of the two when its captain decided to head to the nearest port for disembarkation at the earliest possible time.

No injuries were reported. However, the incident meant that the vessel can only sail using its starboard engines, limiting its speed to 10 knots.

The large offshore tug GO Spica had rendezvoused with MPV Everest to provide escort for the remainder of the voyage to Fremantle as a safety precaution taken by the ship’s owner, Maritime Construction Services (MCS) of Luxembourg.

The entire transit was continually monitored by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and the Australian Antarctic Division, which had chartered the vessel for Antarctic resupply missions following the retirement of the icebreaker Aurora Australis in March 2020.

With 109 expeditioners and crew on board, MPV Everest has now completed a two-month resupply voyage to Davis and Mawson research stations in east Antarctica.