Two Esvagt vessels in firefighting operation on the North Sea.

An explosion in the machine room of the tanker, 'Alia', triggered the fire extinguishing system installed on board.

The vessel, 'Alia', sent out a call at 20:05 on the MF&HF system. The position of the 'Alia' was 64 nautical miles, or approximately 120 kilometres, out in the North Sea, west of Hvide Sande. Both the 'Esvagt Omega' and the 'Esvagt Gamma' were in the area and reacted to the distress call.

The two ESVAGT vessels performed a carefully coordinated operation. Both vessels are equipped with standard fire-fighting equipment (fire pumps and hydrants). The 'Esvagt Omega' also has a water cannon mounted on monkey island, which has a capacity of 75 m3 per hour and a range of 30 metres.

The 'Alia' contacted the 'Esvagt Omega' by radio at 21:06 and requested help to cool down the aft part of the vessel. The hull was too hot for them to be able to access the machine room. The 'Esvagt Omega' came alongside the 'Alia' and sprayed water onto the sides of the tanker to cool down the machine room after the explosion. The hull was so hot that steam came up where the water hit it.

The tanker was cooled by the two ESVAGT vessels for around 3 hours. At 00:40, the 'Esvagt Gamma' and the 'Esvagt Omega' received the message of thanks and job well done from the 'Alia'. They had now regained control of the situation. No-one had been injured by the explosion and there was no risk of oil leakage either, reports the operations centre for the Danish armed forces, Forsvarets Operationscenter.

Facts

The tanker, 'Alia', was built in 2003. It sails under the Liberian flag and was on its way from Gothenburg to Malta. The vessel is 183 metres long. Dead weight: 35669 T.
Load: Fuel oil.
Position: 55.9423/6.251485, 64 Nm west of Hvide Sande.