No Casualty As NPA, LASEMA Put Out Fire On Board Cargo-laden Ship

The Fire Service Unit of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) have extinguished a fire that ravaged a cargo-laden vessel at ENL Terminal, Apapa Port.

The ship, MV CHANG MIN, was laden with CNG trucks, wooden products, tyres and other highly combustible products.

According to the permanent secretary, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, the fire was put out yesterday through a combined effort from fire officials from the LASEMA Response Team, Onipanu, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Fire Unit.

Dr Oke-Osanyintolu said the fire was observed at the point of unloading, and the cause was yet to be ascertained when filling in this report.

The LASEMA statement reads: “Following distress alerts at 17:55, the Lagos State Emergency Management (LASEMA) activated the State’s Emergency Response Plans from the Cobra Base in Onipanu. Upon arrival at the scene, a cargo ship CHANG MIN laden with cargo, which included CNG trucks, wooden products, tyres and other highly combustible products, was observed to have caught fire within section two of the cargo hold.

“Preliminary investigations conducted by Emergency responders at the scene revealed that the fire was observed at the point of unloading, and the cause is yet to be ascertained at the time of report.

“No life was lost, and no injuries were sustained to anyone, as all seafarers on board have been accounted for. The Cobra response team, alongside all other responders at the scene, undertook the debriefing from the Crew on board to give more information to Emergency Response Teams as to the instruction that the compartment be shut to eliminate oxygen supply, while initial dampening down was being conducted.

“A fire response plan was agreed upon by Emergency Responders on a method to combat the inferno in the safest possible way to eliminate secondary incidents and also ensure the safety of all firefighters; ⁠Reopening of the cargo hold to enable fire teams engage the inferno; Location of fire and the ship floor plan.”

The LASEMA boss, however, said that the fire had been extinguished and the recovery operation concluded.