Raw Video: Maersk Iowa Engine Room Fire and Response in Real-time

Maersk Iowa file photo courtesy MarineTraffic/Richard Morrison

Check out this video posted to Youtube showing an engine room fire aboard the Maersk Iowa and the response by the ship’s crew in real-time.

The only details we know are what we can get from the video: The fire occurred at 13:16 local time on January 10, 2015 approximately 50 miles off the Georgia-Florida border and was believed to have started when the No. 5 cylinder blew.

Skip to 16 minutes for the action (if the video didn’t start there already). Captain gets to the bridge at 19 minutes. At the 45-minute mark, you can here the Captain the discussing the details of the incident with the Coast Guard.

https://youtu.be/zUGvVjpKw04?t=16m

The U.S.-flagged Maersk Iowa is part of the 4,658 Maersk Wyoming class. Ironically, this incident occurred exactly 9 years to the day after the vessel’s christening in 2006.

Update: A statement from Maersk Line, Limited to gCaptain said:

The video footage (posted on gCaptain today) depicts the mechanical failure of a main engine air start valve resulting in an explosion and fire in the engine room of the Maersk Iowa while underway on January 10^th, 2015.  No one was injured by this incident, and thanks to the quick and professional emergency response of the officers and crew, any potential further damage was contained with no harm to the environment.  The Company has shared this particular video footage with the USCG, Lloyd’s Register and other internal and external stakeholders in an effort to understand its root cause for implementing corrective action across our fleet.   The video has also been shared with our ships crews’ as a training aid.

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