American Ship Catches Fire in Kaohsiung Harbor
An American-flagged fishing vessel caught fire while docked in Kaohsiung harbor today, August 4, 2016. Nine fire trucks and two fire boats were dispatched to deal with the blaze.
At 3:13pm, thick smoke and flames erupted from behind the bridge of the 258.4 foot American Eagle. The flames spread to the bridge, but fortunately nobody was trapped on the vessel and no casualties were reported.
The cause of the fire is being investigated. It took firefighters more than an hour to extinguish the blaze.
The American Eagle previously caught fire 1,800 miles south of Hawaii and was abandoned by it’s crew of 42 on February 10 this year. The crew re-boarded the ship after the smoke and flames abated. Rescue efforts during that incident included the deployment of a HC-130 Hercules airplane.
According to the Western and Central Fisheries Commission, the ship was built in Kaohsiung, and is owned by a company in America. The registered port is Pago Pago. The vessel type is Tuna purse seiner, and it is licensed to harvest migratory fish until December 20, 2017.
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