Sharjah: Oil tanker catches fire at Hamriya port

Sharjah: The crew of an oil tanker was rescued on Tuesday night after a fire broke out on-board their vessel, an official at the UAE Coast Guard told Gulf News.

“The fire broke out on-board at around 12am. The tanker called ‘Al Kabeer’, which had a Togo flag, left Al Hamriya port on May 9 after emptying its oil shipment and was in a waiting area located at a distance of ten nautical miles to avoid charges,” an official said.

Port authorities said the operations control room dispatched a Coast Guard team to rescue the crew.

The official said there were 15 crew members, all Asian, and a captain on board the vessel when the incident took place.

A thick blanket of smoke enveloped the area as the team battled to save the ship’s cargo.

“The fire took a long time to extinguish because the flames were very strong, causing the rest of the cargo on board to be completely destroyed,” the official said.

UAE authorities have launched an investigation.