Fire-damaged bulker arrives in Gothenburg for unloading of cargo

A commercial vessel that had suffered a fire incident in the Baltic Sea earlier this month recently arrived in the Port of Gothenburg in Sweden for its cargo to be unloaded safely.

The German-owned, Liberian-flagged bulk carrier Almirante Storni was towed to the port, arriving there on Saturday, December 11, seven days after a blaze first ignited on board while the vessel was underway.

Gothenburg Port Authority (GPA) officials said the blaze had also affected some of the cargo of timber and was still burning by the time the ship reached berth 615 in Skandiahamnen at around noon (local time) on Saturday.

Firefighting operations resumed and cargo unloading commenced as soon as Almirante Storni was tied securely to the quay. Both damaged and undamaged cargo are being offloaded with the damaged items shortly afterward transported to a nearby recycling centre.

Swedish emergency services officials said the unloading of cargo may last another week based on the assessment made by a local salvage company. Firefighting operations are also ongoing but may likely be completed within a few days.

The GPA is coordinating with the Greater Gothenburg Rescue Service, the Swedish Coastguard, terminal operator APM Terminals, the Swedish Maritime Administration, and other partners in the firefighting and salvage effort.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.