At approximately 9:30am, TNPA Port of Cape Town Port Control reported a fire on board the vessel MF Shinsei Maru No3 berthed at Quay 700. The MF Shinsei Maru No3 is a dead scrap vessel that was in the process of being demolished. The vessel had no crew on board but the seven workmen who were cutting the hulk vessel were safely evacuated.
TNPA’s Port of Cape Town Fire department, three harbour tugs, together with the City of Cape Town Fire Department immediately responded to extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Due to visibility challenges as a result of the fire smoke, Cape Town Container Terminal operations were briefly suspended resulting in two vessels being impacted, one scheduled to dock and the other container vessel working cargo alongside Quay 601. Other port operations are still continuing as normal with the situation being closely monitored.
TNPA Port of Cape Town has invoked Business Continuity Management (BCM) in order to monitor environmental pollution and any disruption to operations.
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