A screengrab from Yonhap News video (below) showing the fire on board the Panama-registered Auto Banner at the Port of Incheon, May 21, 2018. Credit: Yonhap News
A Panama-flagged car carrier caught fire Monday while docked at the Port of Incheon in South Korea.
Officials said the fire broke out at about 9:40 a.m. local time in the cargo area of the vehicle carrier, which was loaded with about 2,000 vehicles bound for Libya at the time.
The ship has been confirmed as the 52,000-ton, 200-meter-long Auto Banner.
The fire is believed to have started when an engine in one of the vehicles being transported overheated, sparking a fire which spread to other vehicles.
All 28 crew members evacuated the ship without injury.
Officials said the ship arrived in Incheon from the United States on Saturday and was scheduled to depart for Libya on Tuesday.
Video from Yonhap News shows firefighters attempting to the cool the hull of the vessel as smoke pours out the top. Visible damage can be seen on the side of the ship.
The Port of Incheon is South Korea’s second busiest port and in 2016 it handled more than 20% of the countries used-vehicle exports.
The Hyundai Glovis-operated Auto Banner was built in 1988 and has capacity for about 6,022 AEU (Automobile Equivalent Units).
Here is the video below:
Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update
Essential maritime and offshore news, insights, and updates delivered daily straight to your inbox
U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday took steps to de-escalate their trade war, swapping some U.S. tariff reductions and tighter export controls for a pause in Beijing's new restrictions on rare earth minerals and magnets and a resumption of its purchases of American soybeans.
Marilyn Hubalde still remembers the first time she heard the thunderous chop of military helicopters swooping over this northernmost outpost of the Philippines, less than 90 miles from Taiwan. It was April 2023, when Filipino and American troops descended on the cluster of 10 emerald green islands of Batanes province for amphibious warfare drills.
By Weilun Soon (Bloomberg) — An India-bound tanker filled with Russian crude reversed course and is now idling in the Baltic Sea, a sign of potential disruption in oil trade between...
Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.
Sign Up
Join The Club
