Fire erupts in cargo ship engine room as vessel towed away off the coast of Gosport

Tug boat crews were deployed to the scene after a blaze was reported on the container ship One Humber. The incident took place in the early hours of Saturday (February 14).

A HM Coastguard spokesperson said the ship’s engine caught alight in the Solent south-east of Portsmouth at around 5.25am. “The fire was extinguished and vessel was towed by tugs safely into Southampton,” they added.

“No one was reported injured and the crew was accounted for. There were no reports of pollution.”

According to Marine Traffic, One Humber is a Panama-flagged ship which is 336 metres long and 45.8 metres wide. She was built in 2006 and is designed to transport vehicles across eight cargo holds. Following the incident, the ship is currently alongside Southampton after being near Gosport.

This incident comes after a fire broke out on the DFDS ferry Caesarea Trader last week. Formerly known as MV Commodore Goodwill and operated by Condor Ferries, the ship had to be anchored off the coast of Shanklin, Isle of Wight, as emergency crew tackled the blaze. All 24 sailors on board were accounted for and she was towed safely back to Portsmouth.