After three full days of action, firefighters yesterday finally put out the blaze on the APL Austria containership at the port of Ngqura in South Africa. Local media says some containers are still smouldering. The 300 m long boxship called at the port on Monday following a distress call.
containership at the port of Ngqura in South Africa. Local media says some containers are still smouldering. The 300 m long boxship called at the port on Monday following a distress call.The cargo hold was doused with so much water that the water depth inside reached a height of 12 m – equivalent to four containers.
An international hazardous fire expert from London, and five fire technicians from Austria were flown in earlier this week to assess the damage.
The ship’s structure remains intact as the fire was confined to only one section of its hull.
The local port authority has said that both the mop-up and salvage operations would continue all week.
