Coast Guard assisting cargo ship that caught fire southwest of Dutch Harbor
Dec. 29—Authorities are monitoring a Dutch Harbor-bound cargo ship carrying lithium-ion batteries after a fire was reported onboard this week, the Coast Guard said Friday.
The Coast Guard's command center received a report of a cargo fire onboard the 410-foot Genius Star XI around 4:40 a.m. Thursday, the agency said in a statement. The ship was about 225 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor and the crew reported the fire was contained, the Coast Guard said.
No injuries were reported as of Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard's 17th District said in a social media post. Nineteen people were onboard the ship, according to Lt. Cmdr. Michael Salerno, a public affairs officer for U.S. Coast Guard Alaska.
The ship continued toward the harbor in Southwest Alaska, and the Coast Guard said it dispatched an HC-130 aircraft from Kodiak and the Cutter Alex Haley to the area.
The ship will remain offshore from Dutch Harbor and the Coast Guard will establish a safety zone around it, the agency said.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused the fire, and an investigation will take place once the response is complete, the Coast Guard said.
Coast Guard officials said there was an ongoing effort on Friday to extinguish the fire, provide medical care if necessary and mitigate dangers related to fires onboard a ship.
The Genius Star XI is owned by Wisdom Marine Group of Taipei, Taiwan. The Associated Press reported that the vessel was heading to San Diego with the batteries from Vietnam, according to a company spokesperson, and crew members released carbon dioxide into the hold when the fire was initially detected on Monday.
"Concerned about the potential risk of explosion, the hold was kept sealed," the email to the AP said, adding that crew have been monitoring the hold vents and temperatures.
It was not clear when the vessel would arrive at Dutch Harbor, which is one of the nation's busiest fishing ports. The cargo vessel, which has a carrying capacity over 13,000 tons and sails under the flag of Panama, left Vietnam for Dutch Harbor on Dec. 10, according to the Marine Traffic website.
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said in a social media post Friday afternoon that it's monitoring the fire, and that "no release of oil / hazardous materials has been reported."
Salerno, with the Coast Guard, said additional details about the fire were not immediately available Friday afternoon.
A number of fires have started aboard ships carrying lithium-ion batteries in recent years. The batteries are used in many electronic devices, including cellphones, cars, electronic scooters and laptops.
Lithium-ion battery fires are challenging to extinguish because they burn hotter and release toxic gases, according to the National Fire Protection Association. They also present the potential for explosions.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
