Fire Reported on CMA CGM Containership Off Table Bay, South Africa

This picture, released by NSRI, was taken from the bridge of the CMA CGM Lilac which caught fire over the weekend near Cape Town. Image credit: Gavin Kode

Crews in South Africa responded over weekend to a fire that broke out in the cargo hold of a fully-laden containership which was at anchor just off the Port of Table Bay near Cape Town.

South Arica’s Transnet National Ports Authority says they received a call at 04:16 local time Saturday reporting a fire on board the CMA CGM containership, MV Lilac while at anchor at mooring number 2 located approximately 1 nautical mile off the port.

NSRI launched four rescue craft to be placed on stand-by near the ship and reported a light white smoke coming from the vessel up arrival. Meanwhile, a ships officer reported that they were fighting the blaze with Co2 fire equipment.

Lilac’s Captain later allowed NSRI rescuer and a Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services engineer to board the ship to make an assessment. A update from NSRI said that a Pilot will be airlifted to the ship and the ship will be moved to the Container Docks in the Port of Table Bay, where Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services will board the ship to fight the blaze in cargo hold number 2.

None of Lilac’s 21 crewmembers sustained injuries in the incident.

AIS data from MarineTraffic shows that the vessel has since left the Port of Table Bay and is headed to Lagos, Nigeria. NSRI has not yet provided an update on the status of the vessel or fire.